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FATHER FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


Sh OF PRINCE DD 
MR , MAY 4 1920 | 
FELIX WESTER REUS 
MISSIONER IN BORNEO 






Bres Vi RAW. 
(His sister) 
WITH A COMMENDATORY LETTER FROM | 
HIS EMINENCE, CARDINAL VAN ROSSUM 


_ CARDINAL PREFECT OF PROPAGANDA 





TRANSLATED FROM THE DUTCH BY 
REVEREND T. W. LEFEBER 


OF SAINT JOSEPH’S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY 
OF MILL HILL 


EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY THE 
CATHOLIC FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY 
OF AMERICA 
MARYKNOLL : : ; NEW YORK 


Mihil Obstat: 
ARTHUR J. SCANLAN, S.T.D. 
Censor of Books 


Jmprimatur: 
PATRICK CARDINAL HAYES 
Archbishop of New York 


New York, APRIL, 1924 


PINE NERI 


Copyright, 1924, by the 
Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America 
Maryknoll, N. Y. 


Printed in the United States of America 


PREFACE 


| MONG his brethren of Mill Hill, the 
A memory of Father Felix Westerwoudt 

is preserved as most precious. Many 
who were his contemporaries at Hageveld and 
Warmond repeatedly expressed, and not without 
emotion, their sincere veneration for the humble 
missioner who in far-off Borneo had given him- 
self so generously to his mission work. 

It had long been our intention to gather some 
particulars of Father Westerwoudt’s life. Re- 
cently we learned of the existence of a biography 
written by one of his nearest relatives for the 
occasion of a family jubilee, and we requested 
permission to make this account more widely 
known. After some hesitation, the permission 
was granted. ‘The story is all the more touching 
because it is so intimate, so loving, so simple. 

As for its accuracy, Father Reyffert, Father 
Westerwoudt’s co-worker in Borneo, declares: 
<< Having known Felix intimately for many years, 
living and working with him during the latter 
part of his life, I readily join in the praise 
which is bestowed upon him as a humble, hard- 
working, and holy priest, beloved by his flock.” 


iil 


Iv PREFACE 


The question naturally arose as to whether it 
would not have been more in accord with Father 
Westerwoudt’s spirit to keep his story confined 
to a small circle. One of his fellow priests 
wrote that, to his mind, Father Felix “ would 
prefer to remain like the flower in the mountain 
cleft, blooming unseen by man, blooming for God 
alone ”. 

Thanks be to God, among Catholic missioners 
there are many like him! Yet we were of the 
opinion that much good might be accomplished 
by the publication of this life story. This priest, 
though dead, will still preach by his example, 
and will prove to the world that even in our own 
days apostolic men are found to whom the folly 
of the Cross is sublimest wisdom! 

— H. AHaus 
(Rector, Saint Joseph’s Preparatory College) 


Tilburg, Holland, 1918. 


CONTENTS 


PREFACE . 
LETTER FROM CARDINAL VAN RossuM 


CHAPTER I 
At HOME 


CHAPTER II 


AT THE SEMINARY 


CHAPTER III 


Mitt Hur - 


CHAPTER IV 
THE JOURNEY 

CHAPTER V 
Tue DyAKs 

CHAPTER VI 


OPENING OF THE SINGHI MISSION . 
Vv 


I2 


2I 


27 


38 


vi CONTENTS 
CHAPTER VII 


TRIALS 


CHAPTER VIII 


Dyak FEAST Days . 


CHAPTER IX 


First FRUITS 


CHAPTER X 


JoURNEYINGS BY LAND AND SEA 


CHAPTER XI 


REINFORCEMENTS 


CHAPTER XII 


Via CRUCIS . 


CHAPTER XIII 
Tue LABORER GOES HOME . 


PAGE 
45 


53 
59 
ae | 
82 
04 


107 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Father Felix Westerwoudt. . . . . Frontispiece 

FACING PAGE 
An Exchange Market in North Borneo . . . 16 
PPE IRVALOUSLIVAKALAUCS gehe Criewiite varden tie ban lg 2 
Enemies’ Skulls as Hut Decorations . . . . = 50 
PCS ULNVEASSIOI Seine IVER Eje FEM ie head) ee GG 
misteromwitn Natives Ups. ie) eet OV aie Be 
Father Westerwoudt and His Boys . . . . 98 


Father Westerwoudt’s Successors and the Boys of 
Pee VISSOU Me reve eis ie es ae LA 


vii 





A LETTER FROM 
HIS EMINENCE, CARDINAL VAN ROSSUM, 
CARDINAL PREFECT OF PROPAGANDA 


The picture of Father Felix Westerwoudt, 
drawn in this simple and touching biography, 
might be gazed upon with great profit by present 
and future missioners. It furnishes them with 
a living, concrete example, more clear and for- 
cible than many abstract suggestions and lessons. 
In this picture will be seen, not only the man of 
principle, having but one ideal; not only the man 
of character, directing all his endeavors toward 
the realization of that ideal, and sacrificing all 
to that; but also. the apostle, filled with love for 
the Crucified Jesus, and using all efforts to be- 
come like Him and remain united to Him, know- 
ing that his own personal sanctity is a requisite 
to spread this love and successfully preach it to 
others. 

Father Westerwoudt burned with desire to be- 
come like unto Jesus, and to remain united with 
Him there where our Divine Redeemer opened 
up the fountain of all salvation — on the Cross. 
He well knew that in that union lay the strength 
to gain the treasure of faith for the poor souls 


ix 


x FROM CARDINAL VAN ROSSUM 


of the heathen; and he did not stop with knowing 
this, but in an heroic manner during long years, 
day after day, he turned the knowledge into prac- 
tice. | 

Hence, we are confident that those who, an- 
swering God’s call, have chosen the apostolate 
for their inheritance, will reap the greatest benefit 
from the repeated reading of and meditation 
upon this book. They will find their ideals puri- 
fied by it more and more, and will ever draw 
nearer and nearer to the highest ideal, there to 
remain. The love of Jesus will become the only 
motive urging them towards the field afar, and 
will grow continually in them, teaching them to 
make sacrifices. It will awaken in them the 
thirst for suffering, for mortification, poverty, 
hardship, disappointment, and trial, — means 
which Jesus Himself chose to accomplish the 
work of our Redemption. These they will choose 
for their life companions; these they will joy- 
fully welcome and embrace, in order to be more 
intimately united with the Heart of Christ, re- 
membering the Apostle’s words: “ When I am 
weak, then am I strong.” 

How eagerly, then, do we desire that this 
book should be read by missioners of both sexes, 
by those who are now being trained to the sub- 
lime life, by the youth in seminaries and colleges, 
that while listening to God’s call they may learn 


FROM CARDINAL VAN ROSSUM xi 


from the example of Father Westerwoudt to set 
aside and overcome all the difficulties and 
obstacles which may hinder them from accom- 
plishing God’s Holy Will. And if we may 
express a wish it is that this book may be trans- 
lated into some other language giving facilities 
for a wider circulation than the Dutch edition 
can attain, in order that the book’s beneficent 
influences may no longer be confined to narrow 
limits, but may go out over the whole world. 

We pray God and Mary, the Queen of the 
Apostles, to bless this work and make it thrive. 
Grateful to Your Reverence for the part you 
have taken in it, we gladly bless you, with your 
many brethren and students, and all the readers 
of this excellent book. 


— WILLIAM CARDINAL VAN RossUM 


Rome, Palace of the Propaganda, 
February 13, 1919. 


w 


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bid vorpal 
nv f 





FELIX WESTERWOUDT 
MISSIONER IN BORNEO 


I 
AT HOME 


ELIx JoHN Mary WEsTERWOUDT was born 

k in Amsterdam on the fourteenth of March, 
1861, in a thoroughly Catholic family. 

His father, Felix Westerwoudt, LL.D., counted 
three religious among his sisters. His mother, 
Laurentia Bruynen, selected as godfather for the 
‘new-born child her uncle, John Cyprian Schermer, 
a missionary priest in Curacao. This worthy 
missioner, who labored for Christ in the tropics 
for fifty long years, cooperated, no doubt, by his 
example and by his prayers in turning Felix’s 
thoughts and desires to his own high calling. 

Felix was the third of eight children, the 
youngest of whom became a nun. 

Felix grew up under most favorable circum- 
stances. The ample resources of his parents pre- 
served him from any privations, and made it 
possible for his mother to devote herself entirely 
to the education of the children. His father was 
a busy man, a member of Parliament and officer 

I 


2 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


or director of many financial and charitable insti- 
tutions, yet he always contrived to spare an hour 
or two daily for his dear ones. Felix’s favorite 
friend and companion was his elder ‘brother, 
William. The boys usually spent their free 
time together, in long walks or with practical 
lessons in carpentry, and the usefulness of the 
latter Felix as a missioner many times experi- 
enced. 

Often Mr. Westerwoudt joined his sons at 
their recreations, devoting to them all the time 
that he could spare. He aroused in them an inter- 
est in plants and insects; he taught them to make 
small, unsightly photographs — for amateur 
photography was then in its infancy; he went 
fishing with them, or took them to visit interest- 
ing places in and around the city. Although 
slender and pale, Felix was well and strongly 
built and delighted in out-door sports, in many 
of which he excelled. Whatever might come to 
him in later years, his youth was a happy one 
and helped to lay the foundations of that never- 
failing cheerfulness that was one of his most 
striking characteristics. 

As a child, Felix was sometimes irritable and 
hot-tempered. On one occasion, having been 
placed in a room by himself as a punishment, he 
smashed a pane of glass with his fist to cool his 
temper. Jealousy, too, occasionally had its way 


AT HOME 3 


with him. Once, at a children’s party, he stub- 
bornly refused to join in a race, and when his 
father insisted on knowing the reason, he replied: 
“Tf I lose, I shall cry. And I do not want to 
do that.” But no one ever knew him to be 
guilty of a deceitful, false, or disloyal act. 
He was a lively, pleasing, playful boy, full of 
innocent gaiety, ready for a prank at any time, 
and a favorite alike with his fellow pupils and 
his teachers. 

From seven to thirteen, Felix was at a private 
school for Catholic boys of comfortable means. 
The principal bore testimony, thirty years later, 
that Felix was his best and dearest pupil and was 
beloved by all. When he was thirteen, his 
schoolmates elected him to represent them on an 
occasion when all the schools of Holland were 
uniting to present a token of homage to the King. 
This was in 1874, at the silver jubilee of King 
William III. Later Felix delivered an address 
to the King at the palace, in the name of all the 
youth of the kingdom. 

When Felix was eleven years old his vocation 
to the priesthood was made evident to him, on 
the day when he made his First Holy Com- 
munion. His mother, who had had a large 
share in the careful preparation, rejoiced to see 
that her boy longed for the great day. When it 
came, it brought him All — and asked all in re- 


4 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


turn. Jesus gave Himself wholly to the innocent 
child in that first embrace, but asked in return 
a total surrender of soul and body. | 

The next day Felix told his mother that he 
wished to become a priest, that he believed it to 
be his vocation. The mother’s heart was thrilled. 
Her son, her child, a priest of God! Some day, 
in the far-off future, the fair head that she loved 
so well, crowned with the halo of the holy priest- 
hood! She shared the good news with her 
husband, who rejoiced with her. But both 
parents decided that it was incumbent upon them 
to seriously test the vocation of their son. They — 
advised him to make himself worthy of so high 
a calling by ardent prayer and good behavior, 
and they forbade him to speak of it for the next 
few years, excepting with his confessor. 

In no way disclosing his high aspirations, the 
boy took up again his school life with sufficient 
diligence and punctuality to content his superiors 
in every way. And all the time he remained 
the gay youngster, full of fun and innocent 
pranks, the favorite of his school, the joy of his 
home. When he had finished his course at the 
elementary school, his father, on the advice of 
wise counsellors, sent him to the High School at 
Amsterdam, but his vocation was equal to this 
test, also. The father, puzzled at first by the 
easy-going cheerfulness and contentment of the 


AT HOME 5 


lad, asked his wife: “ Do you believe that Felix 
is still thinking of becoming a priest? ” 

The mother’s eye, however, saw rightly; the 
mother’s heart did not err. “Oh, undoubtedly! ” 
she replied. 

And indeed, before long, the high-school boy 
came rushing down the stairs, as was his wont, 
and knocked at the door of his father’s study. 
Going straight to the point, he said: “ Father, 
I wish to tell you that my desire of becoming a 
priest has changed in no way. Is it not time 
now to make arrangements? ” 

Thus it became evident to his father that there 
was question of something more than a childish 
fancy, and that henceforward nothing would 
stand in the way of his son’s aspiration. Felix 
had finished the two lower classes at the High 
School and had réached his fifteenth year. After 
the summer holidays of the year 1876, he entered 
the diocesan preparatory seminary, “ Hageveld ”, 
near Leyden. His heart’s desire was no longer 
to remain hidden within him; henceforth every- 
body was free to know: he wished to become a 
priest. 


IT 
AT THE SEMINARY 


+ length Felix was in the Seminary. At 
A the beginning he had to apply himself 
principally to the profane sciences. But 
gradually the higher studies of dogmatic. and 
moral theology came to the front, and soon they 
required all his attention. 

How often in the first years, while the torch 
of mere human knowledge was being lighted in 
him, did the well-chosen words of his priest- 
teachers unfold to him the treasures of divine 
grace! Great was the change from the High 
School, where nothing spoke to him of God, 
where nearly all his fellow-students were either. 
Protestants or young unbelievers, to this nursery 
of levites, where everyone’s ideals were raised to 
a divine height, albeit not always fully realized. 

What Felix had been at Elementary School 
and High School, he became at the Seminary: 
everybody’s favorite. At his death, many years 
after, this was unanimously affirmed by all who 
had known him in those early days. Father 
Driessen, of pious memory, said: “ Both at Hage- 
veld and at the Major Seminary of Warmond, 

6 ; 


AT THE SEMINARY - 


Felix was loved by all for his kindheartedness. 
As long as I knew him, I never saw him in a 
bad temper or out of humor. He always was 
the same jovial, kind and friendly boy.” 

If at playtime a large strong hand placed a 
blow too vigorously on some sensitive spot, it 
was always forgiven, for the generous, - boyish 
laughter of Felix Westerwoudt told that no of- 
fense was meant. 

Although the boy was so generally liked, there 
was a time when his professors were not entirely 
satisfied with him. Pranks occurred too fre- 
quently, and the Rector felt obliged to inform 
the parents: “Felix ought to understand that 
seminary life requires also more exterior com- 
posure.” 

From this evil, however, came good. To 
Felix’s mother it was the revelation that a future 
priest needs prayers no less —nay, even more — 
than the other children who remain exposed to 
the perils of the world. From that day, 
especially, Felix never lacked those prayers. 

Only a few months after he had entered the 
Seminary, a great happiness awaited him. His 
Easter vacation was prolonged by his Superiors 
to enable him to accompany his parents and 
brother and sister to Rome. It was Pius IX, 
of glorious memory, whose hand was laid in 
blessing on the head of the young levite. In 


8 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


the Eternal City Mr. Westerwoudt suggested 
that Felix return to Rome for the doctorate at 
the end of his Seminary course. Felix smiled, 
but did not answer deasively. Even then an- 
other offer had been made to him; his heart was 
turning to the toilsome life of the foreign 
missioner rather than the less arduous one of a 
Roman doctor, meritorious and noble though 
the latter be. 

A vocation to the foreign missions was growing 
in him all through the days at the preparatory 
seminary at Hageveld. When he left to take up 
the theological course at Warmond, he felt with 
increasing certainty that God was calling him to 
something different from home-mission work. 
Two years later he wrote to his sister: “ Indeed, 
for many years I have had the desire, once 1 am 
a priest, not to confine my labors to the diocese 
of Harlem, but to go where the laborers are so 
few. I have always wished to become a foreign 
missioner. I believe I am called to it.” 

During the retreat which followed his entrance 
into the Major Seminary of Warmond, he laid 
the matter before his confessor, seeking advice. 
The father advised him to keep praying for 
light. He bade Felix repeat constantly during 
the retreat the words of holy Samuel: “ Speak, 
Lord, for Thy servant heareth! ” 

Now, a picture of the child-prophet had been 


AT THE SEMINARY 9 


familiar to Felix from earliest infancy. Often, 
indeed, from his little cot at home he had fixed 
his eyes on the ornament of the nursery: the 
picture of young Samuel, startled from his 
slumber, with the listening face, the big attentive 
eyes, the little hands piously folded! To Felix, 
too, God’s answer came quickly. It grew ever 
clearer, till, at the close of the retreat, he was 
cheerfully and most firmly resolved to work for 
souls in the field afar. 

He decided to offer himself for the foreign 
missions after ordination, and consequently went 
on with the regular course at Warmond, pursuing 
his theological studies and following the exer- 
cises with the other seminarians. Although Felix 
did not mention his own hopes, he often spoke 
of the missionary life and all connected with it 
so warmly that some of his friends came to sus- 
pect his heart’s desire. With one in particular 
these conversations grew so enthusiastic that both 
young men began to fear they would impede a 
clear view of their respective vocations. Not 
wishing to unduly influence each other in the 
choice of the apostolic vocation, they generously 
decided to sacrifice the pleasure of these talks, 
so that no voice from without might deaden that 
of God. Felix was the first to see his course 
clearly; more than a year later his friend fol- 
lowed. 


10 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


After two years at Warmond, Felix heard at 
his own home a conversation which caused him 
to change his plans. Mr. Westerwoudt — who 
knew nothing of his son’s missionary aspirations 
—defended the opinion that, for a future 
missioner, it was desirable to secure in time an 
adequate preparation at an appropriate institution. 
Felix took no part in the conversation, but felt 
that he had heard the voice of Providence. 
Accordingly, when the guests had departed, he 
went to his father and asked to be dealt with as 
the father had advocated. 

“ Poor father! ” a member of the family wrote 
later, “at that moment a sword pierced his heart. 
He knew then that the days when he would have 
his dear son with him were numbered. But no 
difficulties were raised, no obstructions put in the 
way, no postponement asked for or advised. Nay 
more, Felix could testify in after years, ‘ Father 
was continually of assistance to me’.” 

Such assistance meant more in Felix’s youth 
than it would now. Today Holland has many 
missionary institutions, and anyone wishing to try 
out his missionary vocation may apply in person 
and talk over his problems with the missioners 
themselves, submitting himself and his vocation 
to their judgment. But in 1883, a secular priest 
feeling a call to the missions had no such clear 
road before him. Occasionally a priest left for 


AT THE SEMINARY 11 


the United States to undertake parish work there. 
One heard sometimes of the Norwegian mission, 
or the African missions, or the works of the Paris 
Foreign Mission Society, but there was no actual 
intercourse. The work of the Mongolian 
mission, directed by the Scheut Fathers in Bel- 
gium, was a little better known, but only in the 
southern part of Holland. A few pioneers had 
crossed over to England, to Saint Joseph’s Foreign 
Mission Seminary at Mill Hill, and Mr. Wester- 
woudt was advised that Saint Joseph’s offered the 
only opportunity for a secular priest to reach the 
mission goal. 

In the spring of 1883 Felix had an interview 
with his Bishop, who received him most kindly, 
made short work of all hindrances, and gave him 
full liberty to go where God called him. Should 
he ever repent of the step, the Bishop declared 
he would receive him back into the diocese with 
open arms. With this warm support and the 
cordial consent of his family, Felix crossed the 
Channel and began his actual mission preparation 
at Saint Joseph’s. 


EEL 
MILL HILL 


ARDINAL VAUGHAN had founded Saint 
6 Joseph’s Society for Foreign Missions 
and its College at Mill Hill in 1866, 
when he was still a young priest in his early 
thirties. In 1871 it had sent out its first gradu- 
ates to work in the negro settlements around 
American cities. In 1875 the Vicariate of 
Madras in India had been confided to it, followed — 
in 1881 by North Borneo with Labuan and Sara- 
wak, and later by Kashmir and Kafiristan. 
Hardly had the young Society been established 
when, by the election of its founder to the epis- 
copal see of Salford, its strongest support seemed 
to be taken away. However, by permission of 
the Holy See, Bishop Vaughan was allowed to 
continue the direction of his dear Society, a rector 
being appointed to act in his name. Canon Benoit, 
a saintly priest filled with zeal for the missions, 
and a kindly and prudent man, was the first 
called to this office, and under his wise direction 
Felix Westerwoudt was to be moulded to the 
missionary career. 
Felix entered Saint Joseph’s College in 1883, 
when he was twenty-two years old. Very many 
I2 ’ 


MILL HILL 13 


of the students were of his own nationality. 
English vocations had been few at first, and the 
Society and College welcomed applicants from 
the Continent. Hollanders and Tyrolese re- 
sponded in such large numbers that the Society 
was often reproached in those early days with not 
being English at all. “Very well” Dr. 
Vaughan would rejoin, “let the English apply 
in greater numbers; they will be received with 
open arms; but millions of souls on the brink 
of perdition cannot wait for the English.” 

It was a comfort to Felix, no doubt, to have 
so many Hollanders among his fellow-students. 
But he did not let that deter him from perfecting 
himself as much as possible in his new language. 
Nor did he take too hardly the gradual modifying 
of his national character. ‘ More and more I 
begin to take after the English,” he wrote home, 
“though the Dutch blood flows no less through 
my veins than before. We are constantly re- 
minded that nationalities must be put aside now; 
that the missionary’s fatherland is the Church of 
God.” And again: “A few words in my mother 
tongue, since you prefer it. Do not think that 
I have forgotten it; but I try to forget it a little, 
or rather, to put some English in its stead; and 
that is why I write ‘my letters in that language.” 

At first many things seemed strange to Felix. 
But he generously resolved to put aside all boy- 


I4 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


ishness, all pranks, and whatever might in any 
way conflict with the rule of the house. He had 
made the sacrifice, and he wished to make it in 
full. The daily manual labor period was a wel- 
come change from study. It found our future 
missioner scrubbing the floor of the chapel; or, 
dressed in old clothes, standing knee-deep in mud 
to drain a pond; or pursuing with ardor the car- 
penter’s or cobbler’s trade. At hay-making 
time, when the students forsook their books for 
the pitchfork, none was happier or more active 
than he. | 

“As in every Seminary,” he wrote to his 
family, “there is very little variety here. 
Every day is much the same. So I am glad they 
have appointed three-quarters of an hour each 
day for manual labor. It brings some little 
change; and besides, I rather like such work. I 
am parading just now a pair of boots which I 
myself provided with their solid soles, an opera- 
tion which I intend shortly to repeat on another 
pair.” | 

On the feast of Saint Joseph, in 1884, Felix 
received Sacred Tonsure and Minor Orders. 
The call to the subdiaconate followed sooner 
than usual, and Felix at first hesitated, not be- 
cause of the step, but because of the unexpected- 
ness of it. A letter written at the time reveals 
the hesitation and the subsequent decision: 


MILL HILL 15 


CT did not in the least expect that this would 
take place before the holidays. But after con- 
sultation with Bishop Vaughan it was so arranged. 
Under these circumstances I think myself justified 
in taking this important step. Treading with 
God’s help a path chosen for His sake, I believe 
that I may expect from Him the necessary 
strength to proceed and to reach the end.” 

Early in 1885 Felix was prepared for his 
approaching ordination to the diaconate, but he 
was not informed of the date of his ordination 
to the priesthood, and he had no inkling as to 
his future mission. Obedience was to be the 
watchword. It was not, however, contrary to the 
spirit of obedience to form wishes, and Felix, 
drawn towards Borneo, spoke of it frequently and 
mentioned it in his letters. The Right Reverend 
Father Jackson, Prefect Apostolic of Borneo, 
tells us concerning Felix: 


When, in 1884, I came to Mill Hill for the 
General Chapter, I met Felix Westerwoudt, who was 
then a student. One day he begged me for a private 
interview and told me that, having embraced the 
missioner’s career, he desired to give himself to it 
soul and body. He added that, having obtained all 
available information about our various missions, he 
had reached the conclusion that Borneo was the field 
where the richest harvest might be reaped. “There 
was scope there for great suffering for God, and so 


16 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


he longed to be sent to Borneo. If his superiors should 
grant his desire, he asked of me as a special favor to 
send him to a region where the harvest would be 
plentiful and where there would be much to suffer. 
I was favorably impressed by this interview and by 
what I had learned from others about him, so I 
asked our Superior to send him to Borneo immediately 
after his ordination to the priesthood. ‘This was 
promised me. ; 


By special dispensation, Felix was ordained 
priest the day after he had been ordained deacon. 
The ceremony took place in the Bishop’s Chapel 
at Salford, on March 1, 1885, and Bishop 
Vaughan himself presided. Beside Felix knelt 
one of the best friends of his boyhood days, 
Albert Reyffert, who had followed the same path 
from the Seminary in Holland to Mill Hill. 

For this day of days, Mr. Westerwoudt and 
his wife made the journey to Salford so that 
their son’s happiness might be complete. They 
beheld their boy transformed into another Christ 
— Sacerdos alter Christus—and these holy 
parents knew joy such as the world cannot give. 
On the day following his ordination, they received 
Holy Communion from his hands. His mother 
wrote to a friend: 


Rejoice with me, and bless our good God, for I am 
the mother of a priest! 


OINUOG HLUON NI NOISSIJN OIIOHLV) V YVAN LAN4VIN JONVHOXY NV 








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MILL HILL 17 


‘L'wenty-five years ago I wrote to you when this 
child was born. How well I recall my happiness. And 
yet what a great distance between the happiness then, 
and that which fills my soul now! 

I am the mother of a priest. Those little hands 
which twenty-five years ago I kissed with maternal 
tenderness, those hands are consecrated now, those 
fingers have touched God! ‘That intellect which re- 
ceived its light through me, how highly it has risen 
above my intellect by study and grace — and now it is 
consecrated. That body which I protected and cared 
for, over which I watched so many nights in cruel 
anxiety, has grown up tall and strong — and now it is 
consecrated. Servant of a priest soul, it will exhaust 
itself to lift up the sinner and to teach the ignorant. 
That heart, that pure heart, that trembled at each touch 
of the world, has been consecrated. Oh, I know my 
son’s heart, I know that it contains treasures! 

At the altar he was recollected in all his actions. 
I was quite near to him. I did not pray. Or rather, 
I do not know if it was praying; it was the ecstacy of 
a Christian mother. I only repeated: “Thanks, my 
God, thanks! ‘That priest belonged to me. I have 
formed him. His soul kindled its light at my soul. 
Now he does not belong to me any longer, but to You 
alone. Keep him from the very shadow of sin! I 
love him, I honor him, I revere him—he is Your 
priest! ” | 

At the moment of Holy Communion my child 
raised his hand in blessing over the head of his mother. 
When, with the ciborium in hand, he came to me, a 


18 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


sob escaped him. What a moment, what a union! 
God, His Priest, and I! ... Oh, Iam happy! What- 


ever may come after this, do not pity me any more, 


Yet they were the parents not only of a priest, 
but of a missioner, and the shadow of the cross 
was over their joy. Felix returned with them 
to spend his last vacation under their roof. 
Much of the time was occupied in visiting rela- 
tives and bidding farewell to friends. Then 
came the day of parting. On August 28, the 
future missioner said Mass for the last time in 
the village church of Teist, where his parents had 
their country home. All the relatives were 
present, and Felix gave to them their God, the 
Comforter of those who mourn. 

At the breakfast that followed, the young 
priest was unable to raise his eyes from the 
table, fearing to behold the grief on the faces so 
dear to him. When the moment of departure 
arrived, he knelt to receive his parents’ blessing 
and then held his own anointed hands in bene- 
diction over them. The flood-gates of their 
pent-up grief gave way at last, and poor Felix 
was obliged to leave hurriedly, for his own endur- 
ance was well-nigh spent. His heart was very > 
human, and he cherished dearly the happiness 
he was forsaking for Christ. From Mill Hill 
he wrote later: “ God has been very good to us. 


MILL HILL 19 


You cannot know how I dreaded that day as 
something far beyond my strength. But every- 
thing went particularly well, thanks be to God! ” 

Soon after reaching Mill Hill, Felix learned 
that he was to sail from Trieste on October 1. 
His brother-in-law went to Mill Hill to repre- 
sent the family at the departure ceremony. No 
one who has witnessed a departure ceremony can 
ever forget the spectacle. Pain and exaltation 
are so intimately interwoven that the impression 
defies analysis. Felix’s departure ceremony took 
place on September 26. A farewell address was 
given by the Vicar-General of Madras. That 
experienced missioner did not attempt to make the 
way appear easy to the young men about to enter 
the field, but he presented the manifold difh- 
culties and sufferings of the missioner in a manner 
which inflamed the zeal of his hearers. Then the 
departing missioners stood before the altar and 
the congregation came forward and kissed their 
feet. The significance of this solemn act is of 
great beauty, for it recalls the blessing of the 
prophet upon the missioners of future ages: 
“ How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet 
of him that bringeth good tidings and that preach- 
eth peace, of him that sheweth forth good, that 
preacheth salvation, that saith to Sion: Thy God 
shall reign! ” 

Preceded by the Crucifix, all set out in pro- 


20 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


cession to the train. There the missioners gave a 
final blessing to the crowd, and Felix left Europe 
forever. Of those who had known and had 
loved him none would ever see him again, except 
the few who would be sent to fight on the same 
battle field. Father Reyffert, also, had been as- 
signed to Borneo, and the ties of this holy friend- 
ship were to grow ever closer. 


IV 
KELE JOURN EY, 


HE two missioners for Borneo sailed 
from Trieste on October 1. The boat 
was good but, as they were second-class 
passengers and the ship was crowded, they had 
to share their cabin with two strangers. This 
prevented them at first from saying Mass, but 
after a few days they became acquainted with 
three Jesuit Fathers, bound for Bombay, and said 
Mass in the cabin of these new friends. 

Felix wrote to those at home the account of 
his adventures and impressions. He was keenly 
sensitive to the beauty of the changing scenes but 
they could not distract him from the goal on 
which his heart was set. Alexandria was the 
first real taste of Oriental life the missioners had. 
The crowded streets, the noise, the bright colors, 
the smells, were all new and rather confusing. 
Most of the passengers got off there, and con- 
ditions on the boat became better. 

At Port Said the missioners visited the Fran- 
ciscan Fathers, provided themselves with candles 
for Mass, and went to confession. The town did 

2I 


22 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


not attract them, as it was even less clean than 
Alexandria. They went ashore once more at 
Aden and were able to secure Mass-wine. Then 
followed six days of open sea till, on: Friday, 
October 23, Bombay loomed up in the distance. 
This was the destination of all the remaining 
passengers, except the two Borneo Fathers and 
one German. The Jesuits welcomed the mission- 
ers to their immense College. The Bishop of 
Bombay was likewise most hospitable. ‘The city 
with its splendid harbor, its university, schools, 
shops and hotels, gave the la, of a great 
metropolis. 

On October 29 the voyage was resumed. It 
had grown rather monotonous. The first stop was 
at Colombo, on the island of Ceylon. Here 
Felix and Father Reyffert stayed with the Oblate 
Fathers. At Penang they met a warm welcome 
from the Paris Foreign Mission Fathers, who 
conducted a large seminary for Chinese, Anna- 
mites, and other Asiatics. And so they experi- 
enced the Catholicity of Holy Mother Church, 
whose priests are united in a bond unaffected Ey 
considerations of nationality or locality. 

Singapore was the last stopping place. 
“Though our lazy life had spoiled us,” wrote 
Felix, “ how glad we were to see the end of our 
journey! ” They were taken ashore by a Father 
of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, whose 


THE JOURNEY 23 


Procure was of great service to the Borneo mis- 
sioners. The boat for Borneo left early the next 
morning, so they had but one day to make pur- 
chases, change money, and attend to the shipment 
of some goods previously ordered by the other 
Fathers. 

The boat which took them over to Borneo was 
a good little vessel, but in rough weather she 
rolled more than the larger mail boat had done. 
After a journey of two days, on November 15 
they distinguished from afar the coast of Borneo. 
The weather was fine and Felix was able to say 
Mass “on a Borneo boat gliding over a Borneo 
river”. He offered it for the people of Borneo 
and for the Singhis in particular. “But you 
were not forgotten, either,” he wrote to those 
at home, “you to whom I owe it, under God, 
that I am able to exercise my priestly duties in 
Borneo.” 

A disappointment awaited the travelers at 
Kuching. When they landed there, after a few 
hours on the river, there was no priest to greet 
them. A couple of Chinese school boys, shy and 
clumsy, had been sent to show the way. It 
was Sunday, and one of the missioners had gone 
to an out station, while the other was singing 
High Mass in Kuching’s little church. So the 
newcomers entered the town, carrying bag and 
baggage, laden down by the heavy sacks of silver 


24 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


coin obtained at Singapore for themselves and the 
other Fathers. Of course, they received a cordial 
welcome later, at Saint Joseph’s Mission, but the 
loneliness of that first landing was a foreshadow- 
ing of the loneliness Borneo would hold for them. 

The conversion of the part of Borneo allotted 
by Propaganda to the Mill Hill missioners was a 
gigantic task. They had charge of Labuan and 
North Borneo. Borneo, the second largest island 
in the world, is situated under the equator, so 
that the heat is tremendous and there are count- 
less rainfalls. These conditions develop dense 
forests which cover the whole island. Seventy — 
years ago it was absolutely impossible to pene- 
trate into the northern part of Borneo. ‘The 
coast was unsafe because of pirates, and in the 
interior the different tribes were always at war 
with one another. Head-hunting was still prac- 
tised and the desire of the warriors to obtain as 
many enemies’ heads as possible made permanent 
peace out of the question. 

Then a rich young Englishman, Lieutenant 
Brooke, became friendly with the Rajah of Sara- 
wak. This Rajah later grew weary of his 
position and offered it to Lieutenant Brooke. 
The singular offer was accepted, and the English- 
man actually became Rajah Brooke of Sarawak. 
He was noble and humane of character and made 
it his first task to pacify the warring island tribes. 


THE JOURNEY 25 


Later, with the help of some English cruisers, 
he did away with the coast pirates. The Catholic 
missioner could then start his labors in the interior 
with some chance of success. 

In 1881 the first Mill Hill Fathers arrived in 
Borneo. The country was safe enough, but the 
missioners met great poverty. They lived just 
as the natives did, dwelling in the same rough 
huts. They explored the interior region, sailing 
in small boats on rivers abounding in rapids and 
crags, and journeying through wild forests and 
treacherous swamps. When Felix arrived in 
1885, Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, was the 
head station of the mission. Felix described 
the town as larger and more civilized than he had 
anticipated. Trade was carried on by the intelli- 
gent Chinamen, while the Malays did no more 
than provide for their own simple wants in their 
scattered settlements along the river. The 
missioner worked mainly among the Chinese, for 
the Malays were such nomads that it was difficult 
to get a hold on them. There was a Protestant 
mission in Kuching. Somewhat farther away 
from the center of the town, about ten minutes’ 
walk, stood the little Catholic church and mission 
school, which was then only a wooden structure. 
The Sisters? house was a quarter of an hour 
distant, but steps had already been taken for a 
new convent that would face the mission proper. 


26 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


Father Jackson, Felix’s Superior, was absent, 
so Felix remained at Kuching until after Christ- 
mas. This gave him a chance to observe the 
work and methods of his experienced fellow 
priests, and to study the language a little. He 
amused himself with the school boys, who were 
nearly all Chinese urchins, but he felt himself 
drawn towards the uncivilized Dyaks among 
whom he was to labor. He paid two visits to 
his future mission; but his letters home, describing 
these visits, were very brief. He wished to spare 
his loved ones details which he feared might 
alarm them about his future lot. | 

After Christmas he said good-bye to the breth- 
ren, especially to his friend and companion, Father 
Reyffert, who was to take over the mission at 
Kanowit. Then Felix set out to become a shep- 
herd of souls. 


Vv. 
THEY DYAKS 


o souls were ever hidden under a more 
N repulsive exterior than those for whose 
salvation Felix was now to labor. But 
had he not asked for the mission that promised 
greatest suffering? Would disillusionment set in 
at the flagging of the first fervor? Could he 
endure throughout the lonely years, face to face 
with the most sordid reality of pain and apparent 
failure? He did endure, because his desire for 
suffering had undoubtedly been inspired by God. 
Father Jackson, Felix’s Superior, was surely very 
strongly convinced of God’s special help, when he 
sent the newly-ordained young priest to Singhi’s 
lonely heights. God rewarded that trust. 

The Singhi is a solitary and very steep moun- 
tain, two thousand feet high, about a day’s jour- 
ney from Kuching. Half way up is a plateau 
on which dwelt some five thousand land Dyaks. 
About fifteen hundred of these were known on 
Felix’s arrival. They lived scattered over seven 
or eight campongs, or settlements, all under 
separate chiefs, one of whom, the Oran-Kaya, was 
the head of all the Singhi Dyaks. These cam- 

27 


28 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


pongs were very close together, but they remained 
invisible up to the last moment on account, Kor 
the dense surrounding foliage. 

The villages of the Sea-Dyaks consisted of one 
large house accommodating all the families. This 
was not the case with the Singhi campongs. The 
latter were composed of many small dwellings, 
but even these sheltered several households. The 
huts were raised on poles and made of bamboo 
and palm leaves. There were a covered space 
and an open veranda with six or seven doors 
indicating different apartments. There were low 
partitions within, and neighbors overlooked one 
another’s family affairs. The floor consisted of 
tree trunks, arranged to leave large gaps through 
which refuse could be thrown to the space be- 
neath the hut. The entrance ladder was a pole 
with foot-holds cut in it at intervals. ‘The huts 
were usually built in uniform style, but in each 
campong there was one separate round hut for 
the older boys. This boys’ hut was decorated 
with skulls, the trophies of bygone wars. | 

All who visited the Singhi were repelled by its 
nauseating atmosphere. ‘The paths between the 
huts were filthy. They were covered with mud, 
rotting cocoanut shells, and all sorts of refuse. 
Through them, as well as through the indescrib- 
ably unclean heaps beneath the huts, a multitude 
of pigs rummaged at liberty. It will be easily 


THE DYAKS 29 


understood that diseases, more particularly those 
of the skin, abounded on the Singhi. An im- 
moral life and the long custom of close inter- 
marrying helped on the evil; while rice, which 
was almost their only food, is not sufficient in 
itself for the building of a healthy body. 

Father Jackson described the Singhi Dyaks as 
the most untidy, repulsive, and intractable people 
he had met, in Borneo or anywhere else. There 
was not one Christian in the whole tribe; in fact, 
there was scarcely one individual worthy of the 
name of man. Many of them were covered 
with horrible scurvy. They were extremely 
poor, and yet proud and arrogant. The tribal 
chief, the Oran-Kaya, was particularly unmanage- 
able, and he was a ruler of great power and in- 
fluence. 

The Singhis were not brave and warlike, like 
other Dyaks. They were timorous, and on that 
account they had settled on the mountain, which 
afforded a safe shelter against their enemies. 
Their plateau was all but inaccessible, for its side 
was even more precipitous than the rest of this 
very steep mountain. The choice of a mission 
station had fallen on this poor tribe because they 
were never long absent from their village, and 
never ventured far. ‘The other tribes led a more 
nomadic life, which constituted an almost unsur- 
mountable obstacle for the missioner. 


30 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


The Dyaks were short, always below medium 
height. Felix towered over them so much that 
they measured his height with a stick. Their 
dress was of the most primitive kind. ‘The men 
wore a long piece of linen, wound several times 
round the waist, the ends hanging down in front 
and at the back. Usually it was dark blue mixed 
with red. At work it was replaced by one of 
less value, of a yellow color and made of the 
bark of trees. Some of the village notables 
ornamented the ends of the cloth with Chinese, 
English, and Dutch coins. Those who had 
worked at Kuching sometimes donned trousers 
and jacket, but this was the exception. They 
wore their hair short, usually winding a gaudy 
red scarf very adroitly around the head. 

On the left side the men wore a large knife 
which was used for cutting wood and for 
all manner of work. On the right they carried - 
a short but thick bamboo stick, sometimes carved, 
in which they kept Dyak dainties, such as betel- 
nut, sirih, gambier, and a kind of lime, all of 
which were mixed together for chewing purposes. 
As may well be imagined, chewing this red concoc- 
tion did not add to cleanliness. With the bam- _ 
boo stick was a small knife used only for cutting 
the betel-nut. Really fine workmanship was 
often found on the sheaths of these knives. 

The women, the girls, and the boys wore ear- 


THE DYAKS 31 


rings made of pieces of wood or brass wire. 
Sometimes the boys had brass or wooden brace- 
lets around the wrists or the upper part of their 
arms, and some of them had their teeth ground 
to a point. The garment of the women was an 
ornamented petticoat reaching to the knees. 
Their hair was long and uncovered, only the old 
women occasionally wearing a cap made of leaves. 
The girls wore short petticoats also, but fastened 
around the waist by bamboo straps, trimmed with 
a number of alternating rings of brass and of red 
colored rattan. The upper part of the body was 
encased in a kind of bark cloth, covered with 
small projecting rods. This was extremely awk- 
ward, particularly when the wearers were at work. 
When the light canoes were overturned in the 
river, less encumbered folk could swim to safety, 
but the poor Dyak maiden in her heavy harness 
soon. sank. 

Polygamy was not a custom of the Dyaks, but 
divorce was of daily occurrence and subsequent 
marriage was tolerated. The Dyaks had some 
notion of a higher Being, whose friendship they 
must cultivate. But they considered the friend- 
ship of the numerous evil spirits far more im- 
portant, for otherwise the latter would send sick- 
ness and adversity. 

They burned their corpses and believed that 
they were afterwards changed into rain. After a 


32 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


death, the survivors smashed up everything in the 
hut, simulating great rage. They laid the corpse 
with uncovered face in a corner of the hut, tied 
his two big toes together, and placed beside him 
everything that had been of use to him during 
life, especially the skulls of his enemies. Then 
the cremator led the procession, carrying a burn- 
ing torch. After him came a man bearing the 
corpse on his back; then those carrying fire-wood; 
and, at the rear of the procession, the male and 
female relatives. There were several spots set 
aside for cremation, and for the most part they 
were so near to the campongs that the horrible 
stench could easily penetrate within. Conditions 
were worse when the wood was damp and did 
not burn properly, or when the cremator left his 
work half finished. It was not uncommon to see 
a dog or a pig enter the campongs with a half 
charred arm or leg. Babies were not burned, but 
hung in a basket on a tree near the crematories, 
or placed in the undergrowth to be devoured by 
birds, swine, or wild beasts, — a ghastly spectacle. 

The Dyaks did not fully believe in immor- 
tality, but they thought that some sort of soul 
survived death and roamed about. Thus, they . 
related that one or another had been turned into 
a pig or a bear, had visited the sun, moon or stars, 
had generated birds, or had taken the form of a 
cocoanut. here was a survival of primeval tra- 


RENE 





ETET Ee 





og 


uid 


(See page 28) 


THE ELEVATED Dvagk Hurts 





THE DYAKS 33 


dition among them, as among so many other 
peoples, but in a maimed form. In their geneal- 
ogy Adam and Eve come first under the names 
of Adam and Haeva. The only picture in the 
catechism which awoke some interest in them was 
that of the first human couple, for they looked 
upon them as their own ancestors. ‘The story of 
the deluge, also, was known to them. Their 
religion proper was inseparable from their ma- 
terial wants. Everything in it related to abun- 
dant rice crops and protection from sickness. As 
means to this end, they had many festivities and 
wore charms such as shells, the teeth of croco- 
diles and of bears, and various stones, all of 
which were greatly treasured. The missioner’s 
task was to transform all these superstitions 
into Christian feasts and ceremonies. 

The principal feast, the Dyak New Year, 
occurred in May or June, after the rice harvest. 
It lasted several days. On the first day large 
quantities of rice mixed with cocoanut were pre- 
pared, and a great many pigs and hens were 
killed. These were eaten at the feast dinner on 
the following day, together with decayed fish 
many weeks old, and a kind of strong liquor 
drawn from a certain palm tree. A fair portion 
of each article of food was set aside for the good 
and evil spirits. Furthermore, everything which 
the Dyak himself ate, such as bananas, gambier, 


34 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


and so forth, was presented to the Supreme Being 
on a kind of altar. Towards evening the priest- 
esses made their offerings. After much noise and 
confusion, they fell into a sort of trance, during 
which the Supreme Being was supposed to speak 
to them. Then they received rice and stones 
from heaven in an invisible shower, and these 
they distributed among the crowd. The succeed- 
ing days were devoted mainly to the merry- 
makings of the youth of the tribe, which took 
the form chiefly of very strange dances. Felix 
was present only once at such a performance; he 
declined later invitations, to show his disapproval. 

The temperature was very changeable, with 
extremes of heat and cold. The cool nights were 
pleasant, but when a thunderstorm swept its 
wind and rain over the mountain, even the palm- 
leaf huts were cold abodes. The Singhi campong 
was reduced to a slough during the rainy season. 
At such times the few belongings of the missioner 
were almost spoiled by dampness. But the com- 
bination of heat and humidity was very favorable. 
to vegetation. The whole mountain was covered 
with colossal trees, most of which bore fruit. 
Fantastically shaped creepers abounded, of the 
thickness of a tree, with long air-roots hang- 
ing to the ground, and these proved a real 
obstacle to the missioner on his journeys. There 
were not many flowers, but the precious orchid 


THE DYAKS 35 


and the passion-flower thrived. Ferns were nu- 
merous and some grew to a great height. They 
also were hindrances in the path of the traveler 
and their sharp edges often cut legs and face. 

A tree whose fruit was much relished by the 
natives was the lofty durian. Despite its repulsive 
odor, Felix declared that he relished the fruit. 
It was somewhat larger than a baby’s head, and 
was divided within into five cells, the only ed- 
ible part of which was the pulp surrounding the 
seeds. Felix described the taste as that of a 
mixture of thick cream, sugar, and onions. No 
one was allowed to pick the fruit from the enor- 
mous tree, so, during the season, men, women 
and children waited for hours, and even for 
days, until a fruit ripened and fell. The right 
of the most agile was never disputed. During 
this period, as during the harvest, the missioner 
was forced to remain inactive, for no one had 
time to receive him. 

The Chinese, who were not afraid to work, 
made use of cocoanuts, bananas, and the magnifi- 
cent pineapples. They also laid out, in the 
neighborhood of the Singhi and elsewhere, plan- 
tations of sago, sirih, and gambier, from the sap 
of which they manufactured dyes. Coffee and 
tea were cultivated by some Europeans, as well 
as by the Chinese, and coffee-growing, which does 
not require too much strenuous labor, was taken 


36 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


up later by Felix as a means of keeping his Chris- 
tians together. 

The forests were full of deer. Boars were 
also met with, and occasionally a small species 
of bear and the tiger-cat. There were, of course, 
many varieties of monkeys. Several of these 
animals would be edible were it not for the heat, 
which made it impossible to keep meat any length 
of time. But Dyaks were not particular and en- 
joyed meat even in an advanced state of decay. 
The same was true of fish; when its odor alone 
was enough to drive away a European, the Dyak 
would not scruple to offer it to his guest. Pigs 
were considered sacred and eaten only at feasts 
and during illness. On account of the filth which 
was their chief nourishment, their meat had a 
taste which a European could not tolerate. The 
Dyaks raised hens, and the eggs were a welcome 
addition to the rice menu. : 

A large lizard, three feet in length and very 
dangerous, was common. A smaller kind, quite 
harmless, would creep over the table during 
meals. Snakes were numerous and snake flesh 
was considered a dainty. 

The birds of Borneo’s forests had gaudy plum-. 
age, but their songs were not sweet like those 
of the unsightly nightingale or the blackbird. 
Borneo simply swarmed with insects. The most 
troublesome of these were the scorpion and the 


THE DYAKS 37 


large milleped. There were enormous spiders, 
wasps, mosquitoes, beetles, and locusts. At night 
the shrill note of the locust indicated the hour 
pretty accurately. The forest was often so dense 
that the darkness would mislead the traveler, 
and it would be impossible to take counsel from 
the sun; but the buzzing, chirping, or whistling, 
at different times, of some insect or another, 
would tell the time to the half-hour precisely. 
Enormous moths, beautifully coloured, soon 
tempted Felix to try his hand at stuffing them. 
But the white ants destroyed his work within a 
few hours time. 

Such are, roughly sketched, the surroundings 
of the remaining years of Felix’s life. 


VI 
OPENING OF THE SINGHI MISSION 


mission, but difficulty is not always measured 

by time. On his first visit Felix and the 
priests who accompanied him started overnight. 
Two Malay rowers pulled them down the Sara- 
wak river. They tried to snatch a little sleep, 
but without moving, for fear of upsetting the 
frail skiff. They reached the mooring at dawn, 
where the path to the Singhi starts. There they 
halted for their morning meal, consisting of rice 
and dried fish. On this occasion, their fingers 
did the work for which nature intended them. 
One of the Fathers, on seeing Felix relish the 
unsavory meal, said: ‘This raises you at least 
twenty-five dollars in our estimation! ” 

Between the mooring and the foot of the 
mountain there were several swamps, so the 
Fathers provided themselves with stout sticks. 
A Dyak carried their few belongings. The heat. 
was particularly unbearable that day. The 
missioners sometimes sank up to the knee in mud. 
Needless to say, they were obliged to remove 
their shoes and stockings. Dyak bridges were of 

38 . 


| was only a few days’ journey to Felix’s 


OPENING OF THE SINGHI MISSION 39 


a primitive nature, usually consisting of a single 
bamboo stick without any railing. As there were 
several little rivers on the way, Felix wondered 
how he managed to avoid a serious fall. “ But”, 
he added, “ once you are wet, what does it matter 
whether it is above or below the knee? ” Their 
clothes and hands were torn by the dense under- 
growth before they reached the base of the Singhi, 
where they halted for awhile. 

At first the path was overshadowed by tall 
fruit trees which covered almost the whole slope. 
The steep parts consisted practically of sheer 
rock. Sometimes they climbed by means of 
bamboo ladders. In other places trees did the 
duty of ladders; these were cut out, at intervals 
of twenty inches, thus affording a support for the 
toes. This mode of climbing was very perilous, 
and it inclined one to dizziness. The continual 
listing of the climber’s own weight was extraor- 
dinarily wearisome. Carrying baggage under 
such conditions seemed well nigh impossible. 
The Dyaks were very clever in the carry- 
ing of weights on their heads, but many things 
of larger dimensions were of necessity left be- 
hind. Before the campongs were reached, a 
beautiful cascade refreshed the travelers. All 
along the way they could drink of the milk of 
the cocoanut, which grew profusely. 

On Felix’s first visit the site for a future dwell- 


40 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


ing was selected, and the chief was informed of 
the white man’s plan to return and live amongst 
them. He made no objection, and they gave 
him seven dollars and a few presents to start the 
building of a hut. In honor of the occasion he 
had donned a pair of trousers, and he added a 
finishing touch to his attire by crowning himself 
with a basket of glass beads which had been 
presented to him as a gift for his wife. The 
second time that Felix visited the Singhi he stayed 
five days, to direct the building of his house. 
On December 29 it was ready. The new mission 
was then named for Saint John Baptist. Saint 
John never had the consolation of seeing Jesus 
reign over His own; Felix, too, prepared the 
way in suffering and loneliness, and died before 
Christ’s truth could be said to rule over the 
Singhi. 

We may only dimly guess what passed through 
the heart of the young apostle when he found 
himself alone amongst the Singhi Dyaks, he who 
was by nature lively and gay. He never be- 
trayed the secret of his sufferings, but as he 
was about to start for his mission he wrote: “1 
count now more than ever on your prayers; for 
myself, that I may be brave and cheerful, a 
special grace much needed in my future solitude 
amongst such a people; and for them, that God 
may prepare their hearts for our holy Faith.” 


OPENING OF THE SINGHI MISSION 41 


The Dyaks were much astounded when Felix 
took up his abode under his roof of palm-leaves; 
they could not guess his motive for wishing to 
live with them. He had had his house built 
so as to face the precipice. On the other side 
he was within two minutes’ walk of the chief’s 
hut, and almost as near to the rest of the cam- 
pong. The front of the hut gave him a magnifi- 
cent outlook on miles and miles of country, but 
on the other sides it was screened in by heavy 
foliage. It had been erected in Dyak fashion, 
raised above the ground and supported by poles, 
or rather, bamboo sticks. This left a space under- 
neath, where the missioner could keep hens. A 
tree-trunk led to the door of split bamboo reeds. 

The first room served as kitchen. A couple 
of stones covering a square space of sand were 
the stove, and a few little pots and pans com- 
pleted the illusion. A second door opened on 
to the sitting-room, which measured twenty feet 
in perimeter. Part of this was walled off 
and did duty as bed-room and chapel. The 
floor was made of bamboo, covered with split 
bamboo-reeds. The walls and the roof were of 
sago palm leaves. A couple of Dyak mats were 
the only carpet. The furniture consisted of a 
large stone pot of rice, three hand-bags which 
also did duty as linen-presses, and two benches. 
One of these benches ran along the whole length 


42 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


of the house and took the place of a book-case. 
No one was to be admitted into this little sanc- 
tum; it was the only nook where the missioner 
could enjoy a little privacy and, moreover, it was 
his Holy of Holies, with its little portable altar. 

For Felix was not entirely alone in his loneli- 
ness. He could never have endured his exile 
among the Dyaks had it not been for the daily 
visit of the Greatest of all friends, the Friend 
for Whom he had left all things and learned to 
glory in the Cross. A few months after his 
arrival, Father Westerwoudt announced exult- 
antly that his hut was to be considerably enlarged. 
A little chapel was to be added, separate from 
his bed-room, where he intended also to store all 
his “ preciosa”. Most of the so-called articles 
had been left at Kuching, on account of the 
difficulty of bringing them up the mountain. In 
spite of all his efforts, the hut was not strongly 
built and in June, 1887, only a year and a half 
later, Felix complained that it was getting rickety 
all over. 

Felix tried very hard to cultivate the small 
plot of ground around his hut. He sowed and 
planted, but, as the soil was very stony, it was 
almost impossible to find a suitable spot, and the 
numerous rainfalls, streaming down the moun- 
tain, washed away the seeds. He sowed onions, 
beets, and carrots, which might have been a 


OPENING OF THE SINGHI MISSION 43 


pleasant addition to his wretched stock, but the 
seeds were always carried away by the rains. 
For years his food consisted of dried fish, rice 
with a few wild herbs, cocoanuts or bananas, and 
sometimes a bit of boar, deer, or bear meat, 
generally in a state of decay. Tea was his usual 
drink, varied only by cocoanut milk and by a 
cool draught from the waterfall. Better food 
he never asked for, and when it was sent him 
it was left untouched and put aside for one or 
another of his fellow priests, on their visits to 
the Singhi. 

Before long he went barefoot like the Dyaks. 
Shoes and stocking were a hindrance on swampy 
ground and especially when brooks and rivers 
were to be waded. So he was always barefoot 
except at Holy Mass. In later years he experi- 
enced the painful consequences of walking 
through all kinds of filth, and he again wore 
shoes. But they annoyed him. Friends at 
home had sent him some wooden clogs and 
he sometimes found those useful. This was 
especially the case when he walked between the 
huts, where the mud had the effect of a mustard 
plaster and burned the skin from the soles of the 
feet. His outfit consisted of a thin black cassock, 
a large white sun-hat, a stout stick, and the indis- 
pensable knife to clear his way. He was very 
scrupulous about the wearing of his red sash, the 


44 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


livery of his Society, which puts its members in 
mind that they should be in constant readiness 
to shed their blood for Christ. 

As soon as he was somewhat settled, he fol- 
lowed as punctually as possible all the points of 
the Mill Hill rule. During the thirteen years 
he passed in Borneo he never omitted a yearly 
retreat of ten days, followed by a general con- 
fession. He was deeply convinced that a time 
of recollection and care for his own spiritual life 
was imperative after his continual toiling and 
plodding among the Singhis. The holy fear of 
Saint Paul was ever before him, — lest, having 
preached to others, he should himself become a 
castaway. | 


VII 
TRIALS 


HEN Father Westerwoudt went to live 
W with his Singhi Dyaks he did not 
know a word of their language. The 
missioner who had first awakened interest in this 
tribe and had visited them several times, was in 
Europe. Felix was, moreover, unable to form 
a notion of their character and customs by com- 
parison with other tribes, as an older missioner 
could have done. One of the chief virtues 
ascribed to Felix by his brethren was that of 
prudence. He was extremely fearful of making 
a mistake in the selection of his means at the very 
outset of his life’s work. So, at the beginning, 
he was like a man feeling his way in the dark. 

“ Even now,” he wrote on the second of 
March, 1886, “everything is as unsettled as can 
be.” What he called a school looked more like 
a grocer’s shop with its owner waiting for cus- 
tomers from morning until night. 

Whatever vices the Dyaks may have had, it 
cannot be denied that they were honest and hos- 
pitable. Since their own doors were never 

45 


46 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


closed, they expected that the priest would be 
equally accessible to everyone at all times. He 
was rarely left alone for one minute. Many 
were drawn to Father Westerwoudt’s hut by 
curiosity. They made themselves comfortable 
and watched all his actions for hours at a stretch. 
He was often forced to go outside in order to 
have a chance to say his breviary. But the 
missioner must endure this painful lack of 
privacy, for free access to his house is the first 
step to friendly intercourse. 

Some of the Dyak visitors amused themselves 
with toys or looked at pictures from the illus- 
trated paper. To Felix’s surprise, they always 
held them upside down. They contented them- 
selves with such explanations as: this is a horse, 
this is a man, this 1s a house, and did not ask for 
more. They were greatly impressed by the 
workings of a magnet which, in their primitive 
way of speaking, they called “the courageous 
iron”. An old Dyak asked Felix to give a piece 
of it to his dog, as the animal was not brave © 
enough for boar hunting. He was satisfied, 
however, when permission was granted to have 
his dog lick the iron. 

Sometimes Father Westerwoudt showed them 
catechism pictures, but these did not arouse any 
interest. His hearers did, it is true, express the 
opinion that heaven must be better than hell, for 


TRIALS 47 


in the former people wear clothes, but not in the 
latter. When the missioner showed them the 
image of the Crucified Saviour, or when he spoke 
of things pertaining to the soul, some burst into 
loud laughter, others left the hut; no one lent 
a willing ear. On those occasions Father Wester- 
woudt’s heart shrank with pain and he thought: 
“Not yet, not yet. I must first make myself 
loved by them.” 

At Kuching he had been advised to master as 
much medical knowledge as possible. Dyak 
medicine men make use of so many superstitious 
practices that no Christian could have recourse to 
them; so it was absolutely imperative that the 
missioner should know how to doctor his native 
Christians. Father Westerwoudt regretted that 
he had not acquired the fundamentals of medicine 
when he was in Europe. He set himself to be- 
come the savior of their poor sick bodies as well 
as of their souls, and did for them all that energy 
and charity could achieve. Another means by 
which he sought to win them was interest mani- 
fested in all their temporal concerns. He fol- 
lowed them to their rice-fields, and incidentally, 
by inquiring into every particular, he became 
acquainted with their many superstitions. 

His favorite means, however, was to get the 
boys together at his house. The older ones, who 
lived together in one hut, were soon perverted 


48 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


and boys of fourteen and fifteen were already 
depraved. Felix devoted himself more es- 
pecially to the younger ones and made every 
effort to win their affections. ‘They were willing 
enough to play and joke with him, and they 
executed their strange dances or performed the 
most intricate gymnastic feats without any urging. 
But when it came to learning anything, the dusky 
urchins fled. After a few months they were 
less shy of him than at first, when they used to 
scurry away like frightened rats at the sight of 
the tall white man in his black dress. 

At first he could not succeed in getting any 
boys to live with him. They came and went as 
they chose, and it was long before he could exer- 
cise any real influence over them. Father Jack- 
son, his Superior, did not greatly favor the found- 
ing of a school, as he thought it would leave too 
little time for visiting the grown-ups. Felix 
yielded to his Superior’s wishes, as always, but 
he remained convinced of the urgent necessity of 
a school. Later on, by making the most of his — 
time and strength, he was able to have his school 
without neglecting the older folks. 

He gradually established a rule of life for 
himself and for his people. He had stated hours 
for prayer, for meals, for school, and for visits. 
Six months later, in August, 1886, he wrote: 
“ You ask whether I am making progress, but the 


TRIALS 49 


question of success or no success does not even 
come in yet” The germination of the seed was 
very slow. But Felix never wavered. He strove 
more and more to become like his flock, Like 
his Divine Master, he became “ like one of them 
in all things save sin”. When Father Dunn was 
made Superior of the Mill Hill Borneo mission, 
Felix said of him: “He loves the natives and 
knows how to share their life and yet shun 
familiarity. He might be called a Dyak gentle- 
man.” These identical words describe Father 
Westerwoudt himself. 

Not only was success as yet out the question, 
but difficulties multiplied rapidly. It was evident 
that Satan would put up a mighty struggle to 
maintain his kingdom. The devil’s allies were 
powerful in a. place where such morals and 
habits prevailed. But light had already pierced 
this kingdom and the prince of darkness was 
destined to flee before it. Felix himself was 
deeply convinced of this. He would often re- 
peat that the Holy Sacrifice was not celebrated 
daily in vain on the Singhi. Even if he did not, 
himself, live to see the result of his labors, the 
Mass would undoubtedly call down God’s mercy 
on this poor pagan people and they would be 
converted in the Master’s good time. 

At first most of the natives thought that Felix 
was an agent of the Rajah and that he would be 


50 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


recalled before long. When they understood 
that he had come to stay many remained indiffer- 
ent, but others began to manifest hostility. 
Among the latter were the chief and his advisers, 
and the priests and priestesses. The chief hardly 
ever visited the white man, and thwarted him 
whenever he could. He embittered Father 
Westerwoudt’s life for many years until at length 
his own subjects grew weary of him and com- 
plained to the Rajah, who had the chief deposed 
and arrested. 

In 1887 forty-two huts of the Singhi campong 
were destroyed by fire. The bamboo and dried 
sago leaves of which they were made flared up 
like paper, and in less than an hour the howling, 
yelling, wailing population saw their homes re- 
duced to ashes. The chief was away at the time 
with one of his principal subordinates. When 
they returned, their fury knew no bounds. They j 
brandished their swords and threatened to kill 
anyone who should venture to approach; then, 
of a sudden, they sat down in front of the ashes 
of their huts and wept like children. It seems 
that many ascribed the disaster to the presence of 
the Christian priest. Yet Felix risked his life in 
the work of rescue, and, in addition to fighting 
the flames, he gave pecuniary aid to the homeless. 

When the Dyaks planted their rice, they 
observed all sorts of superstitious rites. Felix 


(9S söpd 239) SNOIivuo0daq IN SV GHAUASAUG ‘STIAAG SAINAN? 











TRIALS SI 


had acquired a good deal of influence over a 
certain man and he obtained leave to bless his 
field according to Christian rites. He planted a 
wooden cross where the Dyaks were wont to erect 
the altar of an idol. There was great expecta- 
tion among the natives, for many had promised 
to study the Christian faith if the harvest suc- 
ceeded. It failed, and it was even rumored that 
deer had eaten away the plants at the very foot 
of the cross. Felix wrote to the home-land: 
“ God will turn this to good in His own way.” 

The sorest trial to the missioner was the 1m- 
possibility of approaching the sick. When a 
Dyak fell ill he was placed under the care of the 
priests and priestesses. Various superstitious rites 
were performed, according to the seriousness of 
the malady. The most common of these was for 
the priestesses to chew gambier, betel and tobacco, 
and to spit on the spot where they imagined the 
disorder to be located. If the patient grew 
worse, they killed a hen and cooked it, together 
with some rice. They ate most of this them- 
selves, though a certain portion was set aside for 
the spirits. Then they made a pretense of re- 
moving from the patient’s body various objects 
which were supposed to have lodged there and 
caused mischief. ‘When all these measures had 
been taken, the hut was darkened for a fortnight 
and the patient forbidden to go out or to allow 


52 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


anyone to approach him. In case of mortal ill- 
ness, these practices were multiplied. Imaginary 
incisions were made, stones and like objects sup- 
posed to be removed from the body, a pig killed, 
a dog beaten to death against the door post, and 
the evil spirit given opportunity to leave in a 
small boat. 

Thus Father Westerwoudt could not approach 
the little ones to baptize them at the hour of 
death; he could not enlighten the men and 
women who had shown some good will. His 
heart must have been sad, indeed, as he stood 
at the closed door and longed to minister to the 
departing soul and wrest it from the devil. At 
first he found it difficult to take timely measures, 
for he knew too little of the nature and symptoms 
of illnesses. Sometimes, when he did succeed in 
baptizing infants, they recovered. Only once 
was he able to send to heaven a little intercessor. 

Smallpox attacked the Singhi in 1890. The 
epidemic spread gradually, so that Felix was able 
to follow up the individual cases. At first he 
was allowed to approach several children. “ The 
devil”, he wrote later, “has probably become 
jealous, for now I am forbidden entrance nearly 
everywhere. Even offerings of sugar for the 
sick, or paraffin for night use, are no longer sufh- 
cient bribes. Fifty children have died already 
and I have baptized only fifteen.” 


VIII 
DY ARR RAST! DAYS 


N 1888 a cholera epidemic ravaged all Borneo. 
| The Singhi did not suffer much from the 
plague, but it was the occasion of a great 
festival, at which Felix was present, and which 
he afterwards described. The festival was for 
the purpose of warding off the cholera. It was 
a revival of old tribal ceremonies and the descrip- 
tion of it shows clearly what a miracle of grace 
was needed to make Christians of those poor 
people. | 
The opening day of the festival ‘was August 
26. Great preparations had been made. The 
fate of four pigs and a few hens had been 
solemnly debated by the chief and the elders. 
The younger men were kept busy making a path 
to the summit of the mountain and preparing 
six huts near a very old giant tree, held sacred 
by the tribe. Early in the morning the chief was 
borne on the shoulders of a few subjects to the 
sacred tree, where a throne of bamboo and palm 
leaves had been prepared. With him were 
brought the skeleton heads of a deer, a tiger, a 
53 


54 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


crocodile, and a bird. All the young people who 
felt so inclined were allowed to take an oath, 
while touching these bones, that they would never 
eat venison, chicken, or eggs again, — a strange 
and rather stringent act of self-denial. Three 
pigs were killed and each family received a part. 
A procession, headed by representatives of the 
chief, who for two days must not leave his sacred 
tree, then started out for the place of sacrifice. 
Two priests were followed by about twenty 
priestesses, decked out with beads and the teeth 
of animals. Then followed a native with the 
fourth pig, another with a hen, and a third with 
a burning torch. Behind them came the notables, 
and then the remainder of the tribe, together with 
all the children. The road was a difficult one, an 
hour’s journey over tree-trunks and: boulders, u 
a steep slope. ache 
At last the gruesome spot was reached. It was 
marked by thirteen little idols, statues of differ- 
ent Oran-Kayas (chiefs). They were made of 
wood and measured about one foot in height. 
The reigning chief was not allowed to erect a 
new statue, but was expected to renovate that 
of his predecessor. This was done by his son, — 
who polished the statue for about half an hour 
with some rice and a piece of pigskin. All the 
priestesses, young and old, sang their sacred 
hymns which, though wailing and monotonous, 


DYAK FEAST DAYS 55 


were not without harmony. A hen was killed 
and roasted over the fire; the fourth pig, after 
many mysterious passes with a spear, was pierced 
and only its heart was prepared. Then the sing- 
ing began anew, accompanied by the beating of 
gongs and cymbals. The neck-bone of the pig 
and some bits of copper wire, which repre- 
sented gold, were buried close to the idols, to 
obtain a cool and prosperous year. ‘These cere- 
monies took about three hours, after which the 
party returned to the chief. 

Then every one brought rice and fire-wood and 
prepared the midday meal, squatting near the 
enormous tree. The night and the following day 
were passed in merrymaking. On the evening 
of the second day, the chief was carried: home in 
the same way as‘he had come. Thirty or forty 
men set out on a boar-hunt on the morning of 
the third day. They returned with only five 
little ones. On the fourth day they tried their 
luck again, but in vain. 

Head-hunting was no longer allowed under 
the reigning Rajah, but, on the fifth day of the 
festival, forty men and youths armed themselves 
with swords and spears and set out on an imagi- 
nary head hunt. They returned the next after- 
noon and were received with great rejoicings by 
the whole village. In the middle of the cam- 
pong a mat was spread, and they deposited there 


56 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


the basket which was supposed to contain the 
heads. Around the mat a war dance was exe- 
cuted, to the beating of drums and the clashing 
of panies Then the Oran-Kaya appeared, 
followed by one of the priestesses. The latter, 
muttering her so-called prayers, brandished a 
cock over everyone’s head, strewed some rice 
about, and smeared some red liquid on the Ager 
heeds of the head-hunters. 

A very important part of the festival was the 
skull-dance. All sorts of ornaments for the 
dance were purchased at Kuching, the capital. 
Mats were spread on the floor of the huts around 
the sacred tree, and all the gongs were taken 
there. On the eve, the Oran-Kaya and all the 
participants went to the hallowed spot. They 
carried with them the skulls of the animals 
already mentioned above, and exhibited them in. 
the chief’s tent, where they occupied the place 
of honor. Thirty skulls were selected from those 
used for the decoration of the young men’s hut. 
These were carefully polished, and the noses and 
mouths painted red. Then they were tied to- 
gether in threes and hung around the sacred tree. 
One pig and two hens were killed for the feast- 
ers. All the fish caught during the previous 
fortnight were deposited on trimmed bamboo. 
A dog was slain to appease the hungry and si 
spirits. 


DYAK FEAST DAYS 57 


On the following day the feast began in earnest 
and gave abundant proof that the Dyaks were, as 
yet, uncivilized. From daybreak until late at 
night the men of the tribe did nothing but jump 
and dance around the sacred tree, holding drawn 
swords or knives in one hand and the skulls or 
“ holy ” bones of the animals in the other. They 
tried to seize each other’s trophies and gave such 
shrieks, yells, and howls that it seemed as if 
they were all possessed by the devil. Sometimes 
the jumping and yelling subsided a little, for 
they were well nigh exhausted. Then the chief 
raised himself from his bamboo throne, or one 
of the elders urged on the women and children, 
who beat the gongs and cymbals more wildly than 
before. At these signals the warriors took fresh 
courage. When'a rest was absolutely necessary 
the skulls were deposited on a little mound and 
the crowd walked round and round in procession, 
singing a somewhat melancholy tune. 

Those who participated for the first time in 
the skull dance were not allowed to return home 
but had to stay in the round huts for four days. 
Furthermore, they had to abstain till old age 
from venison, chicken, eggs, and several kinds 
of vegetables and fruit. It was believed that the 
smallest infraction of this law would be punished 
with sickness or even death. That they should 
inflict such heavy and such strict obligations on 


58 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


themselves seems incomprehensible. It only 
shows how deeply their superstitions were rooted 
in their hearts. 

During Father Wester wotaes stay on the 
Singhi the old sacred tree, around which these 
festivals were held, suddenly withered and fell. 
Some of the Dyaks ascribed this sudden death 
to the presence of the Christian priest. Another 
tree grew upon the spot but, with God’s grace, 
idolatry will have perished on the Singhi long 
before it reaches the venerable age of its prede- 
cessor. 


IX 
FIRST FRUITS 
NorceED inactivity is the heaviest cross which 


can be laid on the shoulders of a missioner 

zealous for souls. Father Westerwoudt 
did not falter under its weight, but something 
of what he endured may be learned from a letter 
which he wrote in April, 1886: 


How much poetry our imagination puts into the 
missioner’s life! We picture him roaming through vir- 
gin forests. He comes upon some out-of-the-way hut 
and preaches the Gospel, crucifix in hand, to an atten- 
tive audience. But, in reality, the journey is most 
often made on an empty stomach and in wet clothes 
or under a scorching sun. As to the attentive audi- 
ence, it is non-existent. Some one always says laugh- 
ingly: “ That is all right for white men, Dyaks have 
other customs.” Then the romance of it all is a 
little overshadowed, and one sees that consolation and 
help from on high are indispensable. 


The thought of the numerous conversions 
granted to Saint Francis Xavier and to many 
other missioners filled Felix with a holy envy. 

59 


60 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


But for himself, he knew how to contain his soul 
in patience. An experienced fellow-missioner 
had told him that he must be prepared to wait 
four, six, or even eight, years before any results 
would be perceptible. After two years his anx- 
ious relatives asked him if his prospects were 
growing brighter. ‘We must not bind God to 
time,” answered Felix. 

When he had spent the greater part of a year 
amongst the Dyaks he could say that a couple 
of boys knew the “ Our Father ” and were study- 
ing the Apostles? Creed. This had already 
severely taxed the missioner’s patience. It was 
extremely difficult to find terms in the Dyak 
tongue which would express the supernatural and 
yet be intelligible to the ignorant natives. The 
boys themselves were absolutely tinmanageable 
and paid far more heed to the cries of birds of - 
good or bad omen than to the white man’s words. 
Several times he tried to have the boys live in 
his own hut, but on the slightest pretext they ran 
away. 

He baptized the first infant on his mother’s 
birthday, after he had been six months on the 
Singhi. But it recovered. At the end of a year, — 
however, he had sent two little ones to heaven 
and baptized a boy of twelve in his dying hour. 
The boy had fallen from a tree and nearly 
severed his hand with an axe. The missioner had 


FIRST FRUITS 61 


been allowed to bandage him. After a few days 
the boy tore off the bandages and had recourse 
to the native remedy, juice from the betel-nut. 
Inflammation set in and the result was obvious. 
The lad had visited Felix several times and it 
was not too difficult to explain the ideas of God 
and of heaven to him. It was another matter, 
however, to awaken contrition in him; he had 
never done anything wrong, everybody liked him! 
Felix, trusting to God’s mercy, baptized the poor 
heathen and had the joy of seeing him die a 
Christian. At first he doubted the wisdom of 
giving publicity to this fact, but in the end he 
decided to do so. He was obliged to allow the 
corpse to be cremated, but he openly blessed it 
with holy water and said prayers over it. When 
he was asked the meaning of this, he explained. 
Thus they knew on the Singhi that one of their 
tribe had died a Christian. But when would one 
of them live as a Christian? 

Among the more faithful of the missioner’s 
boys was the young Kottir, a lad of thirteen. He 
was apparently better disposed than the others, 
and well-endowed intellectually. We have 
proof of this in a letter written by his own hand 
to Father Westerwoudt’s father in Amsterdam, 
in April, 1887. It was the first time that such 
a masterpiece had been achieved by a Singh: 
Dyak, and it must have cost the boy and his 


62 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


teacher no small amount of pain and exertion. 
The incentive had been powerful. Father 
Westerwoudt owned a “ quick-match ”, self-ignit- 
ing by means of small cartridges. It was now 
broken, but it had always excited Kottir’s curiosity, 
and Felix promised that his father would send 
the boy one from Holland as soon as he could 
ask for it in his own handwriting. Felix trans- 
lated the letter literally as follows: 


Dear Sir: 

I have seen the child of the rifle of the missionary 
on Singhi, your son. Me glad to play, now is broken. 
I ask of you one large enough, strong, otherwise soon 
broken. I asked the missionary to buy at Kuching, 
but is not; I think in land of white man many. Send 
powder much enough, to use ten years;. and two 
threads yellow string, long ones. Me glad your son 
lives on Singhi, bid not return to land of you, else me 
not capable exercise religion true. Boys others not 
yet like me, three only come always on Sunday. All 
the old ones, father and mother, always angry with 
me; this not touches me, me glad follow religion true. 
Rising and sleeping and at night I pray also. I have 
learned writing a little, not yet I know much. Send 
pictures three: picture Gabriel comes from Heaven to 
house of Mary, picture kings three adore the Lord 
Jesus, picture St. Joseph and his Child, all pictures nice. 

Name, my name Kottir. 


The missioner did not know why Kottir 
selected just those pictures, but it was the boy’s. 


FIRST FRUITS 63 


own wish. He already knew part of the cate- 
chism and wished to be baptized. The parents 
were strongly opposed. It required a good deal 
of will power not to yield to them, and to all 
the temptations and bad examples which con- 
stantly surrounded Kottir. Yet he stood firm! 
His temper was hot and irritable and he had many 
faults, but he was in earnest. When told that 
he must go to confession once a year he proposed, 
of his own accord, to go once a month. But even 
then he knew that he could not possibly remem- 
ber his faults so long. Se he resolved to keep 
a bit of paper always near him, on which all his 
shortcomings should be jotted down as soon as 
committed. When the time of Kottir’s baptism 
was drawing near, Felix decided to call him 
Joseph. “This Saint has so often helped our 
family,” he wrote, “ no doubt he will particularly 
favour my mission work.” 

On August 15, the feast of the Assumption, 
the Dyak lad was baptized at Kuching, and the 
following Easter he made his First Communion. 
Two more boys were baptized that year. But 
the number of pupils at the missioner’s little 
school remained very small. There were be- 
tween three and six. It was uphill work, for, 
though there were so few boys, they took up all 
Father Westerwoudt’s time. He had to trans- 
late morning and night prayers for them, and, 


64 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


above all, the catechism. Their secular education 
was very simple. After morning prayers, Mass, 
and breakfast were over, they received lessons in 
reading, writing, and arithmetic. This seemed 
to the Dyaks the height of civilization. Special 
attention was given to the catechism. Every day 
they worked a short time in the garden or on the 
missioner’s new house. ‘They were so restless 
that they could not remain at their studies for 
more than an hour at a time! But they were 
very eager to fetch provisions from the quay, 
gather wild vegetables in the woods, or examine 
their Dyak fishing nets. | 

The boys’ up-keep was certainly not expensive. 
One dollar sufficed to provide for a boy for one 
month. Felix allowed his pupils to follow Dyak 
customs as to food, and also as to clothing, so 
long as the latter remained within the limits of 
modesty. He thought it best not to risk too 
abrupt changes. Though they had been such a 
short time with the missioner, his boys were al- 
ready more civilized than their tribesmen, and 
their influence made itself felt to a certain 
extent. However, Father Westerwoudt suffered 
many a disappointment in his boys. 

Only one of the six, Kottir, was destined to 
persevere. Another, Myrgon, strayed for long 
years. At last he returned, made a Christian 
marriage, and settled in the mission. ‘The others 


FIRST FRUITS 65 


succumbed to the many temptations and married 
heathen girls. Little Dagiany, attracted by 
the pleasure of flying about everywhere, chose 
the Archangel Gabriel as his patron, and for a 
long time he served the missioner as assistant 
teacher. But he afterwards married a heathen 
priestess and became a bitter enemy of the Chris- 
tians. Yet in spite of so many disappointments, 
when Father Westerwoudt’s Superior suggested 
that he should undertake more promising work, 
the missioner begged to be left with his people. 
When the palm-leaf hut tumbled down, Felix 
undertook to build a solid wooden house and 
chapel, chiefly from his own means. In case his 
work should have no visible fruits, he wanted to 
spare the impoverished Borneo mission. He 
made it clear, however, that he would never de- 
sire this to constitute a tie binding him to the 
Singhi against the wishes of his Superiors. 
There was no level ground available for the 
mission compound, and digging revealed such 
enormous masses of rock that Felix was obliged 
to have recourse to the Borneo Company for 
dynamite, which was used in its mercury and 
antimony mines. A spot was cleared by blast- 
ing, in almost the only place where the sun could 
penetrate and dry the extraordinarily damp soil. 
It was a pretty site, but it did not offer the 
splendid view which the missioner had enjoyed 


66 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


from the old palm hut. There was a small 
garden in front of the house and all the rest of 
the premises were surrounded by thick woods. 
Building material was another drawback. All 
that did not grow on the spot could be brought 
there only with the greatest difficulty. .Camphor- 
wood, which is proof against the white ants, was 
found near the cremation grounds, but no native 
would touch it, as such places were considered the 
natural haunts of witches, ghosts, and evil spirits. 
Iron-wood did not grow on, the mountain, and 
the quantity necessary for the poles had to be 
brought up from the river, a distance of seven 
miles. | 

At first the roof of the house was of palm 
leaves, but later these were replaced by more 
durable iron-wood. ‘The greatest. ornament was 
a wooden turret containing a solid church bell. 
It resounded over an area of a mile and soon it 
would call the Dyaks to worship the God Whom 
the white man had made known to them. This 
bell was highly necessary, for the Dyak idea of 
time was most primitive. It was no wonder they 
could not tell the day of the week, when their 
only designation for the hours of each day was 
the name of some occupation. Thus they would 
say: “It was at rice-pounding time; or, at rice- 
drying time; or, it lasted twice the time of cook- 
ing a meal.” 


NOISSIJN IHONIS AHL LV STAUAAUANO) ANV HOSSAHIINS S,LGNOMUALSAM YAHLVY 








FIRST FRUITS 67 


The work progressed slowly but it was finished 
at last. Felix had started building in the early 
months of 1888, and he asked Father Goossens 
to bless his wooden church at the end of June. 
The bell was a present from the missioner’s 
parents. On the evening of June 27 it sounded 
over the campong, to the great stupefaction of the 
Singhis. They could not understand how a thin 
rope could draw such a beautiful voice from that 
heavy copper thing. 

The next day the blessing took place, and the 
Holy Sacrifice was offered in the little church. 
The remaining festivities were partly a failure. 
The chief had forbidden his subjects to partake 
of the Dyak meal which was to enhance the 
splendor of the feast, because all pagan practices 
were to be eliminated from it. Several dis- 
obeyed his commands, however, partly to please 
the missioner and partly because of the proffered 
dainties, such as a pig killed for the occasion and 
rice cooked in bamboo. A newcomer from 
Europe, who should have witnessed the beating 
of cymbols and gongs, the performance of Dyak 
dances, and the firing of old guns, would have 
thought himself at a scalping party rather than 
a church consecration. The house was red with 
spittle stained with betel-nut and other sub- 
stances. Father Westerwoudt had decided to 
have this feast to show that it was possible to 


68 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


rejoice without superstitious practices. He ac- 
knowledged to himself that his success was 
doubtful. | 

Near the mouth of a small river, the Musi, 
about seven miles from Singhi, there was a 
Malay house, surrounded by a few fruit trees. 
This was the missioner’s landing place. At the 
time of which we write, he bought the property 
for ten dollars. This gave him a place where he 
could pass the night, whenever it was necessary, 
and where he could store the goods that awaited 
a carrier. Such goods were perfectly safe, as 
stealing was unknown among the Dyaks. 

About this time Felix acquired a welcome 
neighbor in the person of Father Goossens. The 
latter was appointed to a new mission station half- 
way between Kuching and Singhi, at Sang-kap- 
kong. Felix could reach Father Goossens, by 
land or by sea, within a few hours. The mission- 
ers journeyed to the new station together, and 
were invited to stay with a Chinese. Christian, 
who gave them a site for a good chapel on his 
own grounds. When this man was still a pagan 
he had built a devil’s temple. Since his con- 
version it was a constant reproach to his conscience, 
but he had allowed the neighbors to make use of 
it and it had become public property. He asked 
the missioners to destroy it by fire, but they did 
not feel that it would be well to do so. How- 


FIRST FRUITS 69 


ever, as soon as Mass had been said in the new 
mission chapel, the temple became useless to the 
pagan Chinese; the devil no longer answered the 
questions put to him. Henceforth the missioners 
met frequently at Sang-kap-kong, and Father 
Goossen’s companionship was a great comfort to 
Father Westerwoudt. 

At the end of 1889, Father Westerwoudt cele- 
brated Christmas for the first time on the Singhi 
itself, with his Christians and catechumens. 
There was none of the Christmas cheer of former 
years, with snow and glittering stars in the frosty 
heavens. But the missioner said Midnight Mass 
in his own neat little church, among those few 
souls he had begotten in Christ, and his heart was 
full of joy. He was able to give Holy Com- 
munion to some, and there were two baptisms. 

Thus, in spite of all obstacles, a little Christian 
community was forming. Christ said: “ For 
where there are two or three gathered together in 
My name, there am I in the midst of them.” So 
He was surely in the midst of Father Wester- 
woudt’s little flock, which already outnumbered 
two or three. More Dyaks began to come to the 
church on Sunday. The bell reminded them of 
the white man’s worship, and the wooden chapel 
was more attractive than the rickety palm leaf 
hut of the first days. So the zealous missioner’s 
parish work increased gradually. 


70 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


Aside from this, Father Westerwoudt was 
carrying a new and heavy burden. The Prefect 
Apostolic of Borneo, Father Jackson, asked 
Propaganda to relieve him, as he felt his strength 
failing. His request was vain, so he set out for 
America on a begging tour, to gather the funds 
necessary for a church and school in Kuching. 
He was gone from the latter part of 1888 till the 
spring of 1893. During all this time he en- 
trusted Father Westerwoudt with the government 
of the whole Borneo mission. The other 
missioners had ample faculties, it is true, but 
Felix was obliged to oversee everything as 
minutely as possible because of reports which he, 
as acting superior, was expected to send to the 
Mother House, to Propaganda, to the Society for 
the Propagation of the Faith, and so forth. He 
had to erect new stations from time to time, and 
visit the old ones. He traveled a great deal 
during this period, and his journeys in the interior 
of Borneo were a fresh source of that suffering 
he had longed for in his seminary days. 


X 
JOURNEYINGS BY LAND AND SEA 


when he arrived at Singhi, to go to 

Kuching every two weeks, was never put 
into effect. It was usually a month between his 
trips to the valley, and then he was driven by 
necessity. He had to go to confession, and he 
had to procure certain indispensable articles such 
as salt, oil, tea, salt fish, and matches. These 
trips were also the only means he had of receiving 
and posting mail. Quite frequently the danger- 
ous journey was made by night. 

Sometimes the road to the Singhi was over 
six feet under water, for a distance of several 
miles. This happened after the heavy showers, 
when the little streams were swollen to rivers. 
Once Felix swam nearly the whole way. He 
made a small raft and put his clothes and breviary 
on it. This was pushed through the water by his 
boy, and the missioner himself swam from one 
tree to another, resting in between. Another 
time, instead of going by boat from the landing 
on Musi river, he made the whole journey from 

71 


Pome WESTERWOUDT’s resolve, made 


vie: FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


Singhi to Kuching on foot. He started at dawn 
and barely managed to reach his destination by 
nightfall. The first half of the journey led over 
a mountain. The missioner had to follow a 
Dyak foot-path, as narrow as a cart rut, where 
it was impossible to put his two feet side by side. 
The second half of the way was even worse. 
The ground was very swampy, and trees had 
been cut down to form a primitive sort of road. 
If the traveler did not watch each step very care- 
fully, he was liable to fall on the hard trunks. 

One of Father Westerwoudt’s first inland 
journeys was to the Bambok tribe, from whom 
he bought a boat for use on the Musi river. The 
one that he purchased was heavy and unwieldy, 
and after the frequent rains it generally had 
to be fished up from the bottom of the river. 

Father Jackson strongly advised Felix to keep © 
to a single tribe in his pioneer work. But the 
missioner thought it well to visit the surround- 
ing tribes from time to time. He wanted to 
make known his presence on the Singhi, and the 
fact that reading and writing were taught at his 
mission, in the hope that some might be attracted . 
to visit him or to put their boys in his keeping. 
It might seem, at first thought, that these journey- 
ings were a waste of energy, but they occasionally 
were the means of winning a soul. When the 
Good Shepherd goes out to look for the lost shéep 


JOURNEYINGS BY LAND AND SEA 73 


he does not heed the thorns and the briars which 
wound him along the way. 

In October, 1886, Father Westerwoudt visited 
some neighboring tribes of Land Dyaks and got 
as far as Sambas, on Dutch territory. At first 
the road was fairly good but the heat was almost 
unbearable. After a particularly trying day, 
they reached the hut of a European who was 
prospecting for mercury for the North Borneo 
Company, and who received them kindly. Felix 
wished to visit the Tringus tribe and, in order 
to do this, they had to push on through a swampy 
primeval forest. The missioner and his boys 
had not forgotten to bind their trousers tightly 
around their legs, but in spite of that precaution 
they suffered greatly from leeches, which clung 
to their skin. .No matter how often the leeches 
were removed, they returned, and seemingly in 
greater numbers. Betel-nut juice is a prevent- 
ive, but its effects are not durable. 

Further on, the path led along a broad but 
shallow river, which had to be waded some 
twenty times. The cool water was temptingly 
refreshing, but the Dyaks manifested great pru- 
dence. They passed through as quickly as pos- 
sible, and stopped on the brink merely to rinse 
their mouths, in order to avoid the danger of a 
sudden change from the heat of the journey. 
When Father Westerwoudt reached the Tringus, 


74 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


he learned that the chief was absent. He was 
allowed to await his return in the large round 
hut where the older boys slept. The white man 
was an object of great curiosity to the boys, 
especially when he knelt to pray before lying 
down. | 

On the following day the chief gave him a 
hearty welcome, and, in return for some half- 
penny knick-knacks, provided him with hens, 
rice, and eggs. The missioner wished to go on 
to the Sidin tribe on Dutch territory. That tribe 
often set traps for the wild swine, hardly dis- 
cernible to the inexperienced eye, and hence very 
dangerous. So the chief, with his son, insisted 
on accompanying Father Westerwoudt. At frst 
the way led along the slope of a mountain, where 
it was difficult to keep one’s footing: The chief 
went first, sword in hand, to clear the way if . 
necessary. Then the travelers were obliged to 
walk in the river for two hours. The water 
reached only to their waists, as it was the dry 
season, but the river bed was covered with sharp 
stones. On either hand stretched an impene- 
trable forest. Dinner was eaten sitting on a rock _ 
in midstream. 

The missioner found the Sidin to be a tribe of 
some two hundred families. Scurvy was so 
prevalent among them that half the population 
was infected by it. Then the indefatigable priest 


JOURNEYINGS BY LAND AND SEA 75 


visited the Krokon, a very small tribe, and re- 
turned to the Singhi after a long day’s journey 
through swampy ground. “ My feet”, he wrote, 
“deserved a rest, and my boy declared that he 
would not make such a journey again. At any 
rate, these poor people know now that a white 
man is living near them, willing to take their 
sons.” 

A year later, in July, 1887, Father Wester- 
woudt visited the Seramboe Dyaks. There were 
three tribes on Seramboe mountain, which is not 
far from Singhi. After a steep climb, the cam- 
pongs were reached, but the natives had left for 
their rice fields. The missioner had no pro- 
visions with him and, though he was quite ready 
to fast, his boy was of a different opinion. So 
they hastened’ homewards, in order to pass 
through the wilderness before dark. On the 
way they came upon a Chinese temple, or devil’s 
house, kept by an old Chinaman. There, near 
some sort of altar, and in the company of vermin 
large and small, they passed the night. At sun- 
rise Felix set out for the rice fields of the Seram- 
boe Dyaks. But the natives scattered and the 
chief was absent, so the expedition was a failure. 
However, Felix did not forget his Seramboes 
and he returned later for a more successful visit. 

Father Westerwoudt usually made these inland 
journeys as rapidly as possible, in the company 


76 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


of one or two of his boys. After the arrival of 
Father Goossens, his cheerful company made the 
trips less painful and they were sometimes length- 
ened. The two missioners also arranged for a 
monthly visit to Kuching in each other’s company. 
On the appointed day Father Goossens went to 
his own landing place and watched for his con- 
frére’s boat. It was recognizable at a great dis- 
tance by its ungainly form, wobbling movement, 
and long oars. Felix rested a while, and then 
the two friends covered the twelve miles which 
still separated them from Kuching, in the much 
lighter boat belonging to Father Goossens. They 
spoke of their difficulties and of an occasional 
consoling event, and talked over the news from 
their common fatherland. | | 

A journey which Father Westerwoudt took in 
company with Father Dunn and Father Reyffert — 
to their missions at Kanowit, was a real relaxation 
to him. This journey was made by rowboat, 
steamer, and native man-of-war. The latter, its 
rowers emitting terrifying war cries, ploughed 
through the water at high speed, but the necessity 
of remaining huddled down with one’s chin on 
one’s knees made this mode of travel not too 
agreeable. At Kanowit they found two other 
Fathers and a lay brother. The pretty house 
was almost too small. Felix was able to enjoy 
a bath, a luxury unknown on the Singhi. A com- 


JOURNEYINGS BY LAND AND SEA 77 


parative study of the local customs and dialects 
gave a useful scope to his visit; and moreover, 
he was refreshed in body and soul by the sorely 
needed rest and the brotherly intercourse. The 
astonishment of the Singhi boy who was with 
him beggared words. On his return he gave a 
wonderful description of the Christians and their 
ways, and emphasized especially that they could 
read and write and were happy. 

In June, 1891, Father Westerwoudt visited 
the stations of North Borneo. A missioner had 
died and the vacancy had to be filled. The voyage 
should have lasted only three days and nights, but 
it extended over a week. As there was no cabin 
available on the little Sarawak steamer, the 
missioner slept on deck. When he landed at 
Labuan a most agreeable surprise awaited him; 
he found there Fathers Reyffert and Driessen, 
who had been intimate companions of his at the 
Seminary in Holland even before the Mill Hill 
days. The joy of the reunion compensated for 
the discomforts of the journey. 

Father Reyffert and Felix visited the small 
town of Papar, opposite the island of Gaya. Its 
inhabitants were descendants of pirates, and they 
maintained the fame of their ancestors, for no 
better boatsmen could be found. The missioner at 
Papar was ill and needed help. The two visit- 
ing missioners remained as nurse and school- 


78 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


teacher for ten days, until the patient was well 
enough to be left alone. The trip brought 
Father Westerwoudt into contact with conditions 
slightly different from those on his own moun- 
tain. 

The coast of North Borneo is inhabited by 
Malays and Bajans, the interior by Dusans. 
These people were more civilized than the 
Dyaks. They were not nomads like the Sea 
Dyaks, nor did they cluster round a mountain 
like the Land Dyaks. They dwelt in the valleys 
and used buffaloes to plough their rice fields. 
These animals were not only indispensable for 
cultivation, but they also took the place of vehicles 
of all kinds, and often one could see two or 
three people crossing a river on the back of a 
buffalo. The youngest children could ride them 
unsaddled, holding to the bridle when going 
uphill, and to the tail when going down. 
Towards the end of his life, Father Westerwoudt 
made an attempt to import some of these buffa- 
loes for Singhi’s rice fields. His death frus- 
trated this plan, but he succeeded in buying some 
for the Fathers in Kanowit. 

From Papar the missioners went to Patatan. 
Three men and a boy accompanied Fathers 
Westerwoudt and Reyffert. Because of the 
stormy sea, they had chosen the land route, but 
this proved especially difficult. What bridges 


JOURNEYINGS BY LAND AND SEA 79 


there were had been swept away in the rains, and 
the missioners nearly lost their lives more than 
once in wading small rivers. The roads in the 
hill country proved so rough that the Dusans 
refused to carry the baggage any farther and 
the little band was forced to make for the coast. 
Finally, all the stations were visited, and then 
Father Reyffert remained to take the place of 
Father Rientjer, who had been drowned. Father 
Rientjer was the latest comer to Borneo, but he 
was the first to go to his reward. 

On the return voyage from Patatan to La- 
buan great difficulties were met. It was impos- 
sible for the boat to plough its way through the 
surf, though it was manned by Bajans. It was 
necessary to pass the night in the open, under a 
heavy rain, in.the mouth of the river; but with 
morning came a favorable wind and the voyagers 
were able to make land. The boy who accom- 
panied Father Westerwoudt gave the following 
account of the journey in a letter to the mission- 
er’s father: 


Not long ago I traveled to Labuan and to Papar and 
to Patatan, and when we left there the missioner of 
Singhi asked three men to take us over to Labuan. That 
night we reached the mouth of Kanowit river. As 
we were going to cross over to Labuan, there came 
rain, a great storm and large breakers. Much water 
entered the boat. The boat nearly turned over and 


80 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


we did not know where we were going. Land and 
water were black. ‘The Malays who rowed us were 
afraid, so they called for help from Mohammed. As 
the storm did not cease, I became afraid. ‘The Singhi 
missioner, seeing my fear, said: “ Be not afraid, for 
our Guardian Angel watches over us” When he said 
this my heart was no longer afraid. 


Ten years later, in 1896, Felix revisited Kano- 
wit. This time the trip was made merely to 
restore his failing health. Father Keyser, whom 
Felix had not seen in all that time, gave him a 
hearty welcome and did all he could to nurse 
him back to health. Great changes for the better 
had taken place at Kanowit during the decade 
and they must have filled Father Westerwoudt’s 
heart with hope for his own dear mission. For- 
merly the Kanowit mission had only one small 
house, which served as residence, chapel, and 
school. Now, in addition, it had a school build- 
ing and a beautiful large church, made wholly 
of iron-wood. Forests had been transformed 
into meadows and rice-fields, and there were 
fifteen buffaloes at work in them. The spiritual 
returns were as satisfactory as the material 
progress. 

We have spoken, for the most part, only of 
Father Westerwoudt’s own journeyings. But 
journeys were frequently made to the Singhi by 
the other missioners. Father Dunn, who was 


JOURNEYINGS BY LAND AND SEA 81 


Prefect Apostolic of Borneo during the last 
years of Felix’s life, never lost an opportunity 
of seeing him. He said that he considered a 
visit to the Singhi a sort of pilgrimage, from 
which he returned edified and strengthened. 

Felix’s poverty, his many hardships, and his 
precarious health, were thus known to a few but 
he wished to keep them from as many as pos- 
sible, particularly his dear ones at home. Doctor 
Driessen, brother of the missioner, who was in 
Java on business, once made his way up the 
Singhi, and Felix was eternally grateful to the 
kind physician that he did not reveal, on his 
return to Holland, the details of what he had 
found. In 1896 Felix was visited by Father 
Aelen, Superior of Saint Joseph’s, Roosendael. 
Father Aelen knew some of the missioner’s fam- 
ily and Felix was overjoyed to be able to talk 
of his dear ones. “I forgot”, he wrote, “ that 
I was a missioner; I was only a son and a 
brother.” After his return to Holland, Father 
Aelen was besieged with questions, and he 
finally admitted enough of the truth about Felix 
to open his family’s eyes. This was harder for 
Felix Westerwoudt to bear than his own suffer- 
ings. 


XI 
REINFORCEMENTS 


| \arneR Wesrerwoupr passed five and 


a half years without a helper on the 
Singhi. He had been offered a lay 
brother, but refused. He felt that others needed 
such help more than he, for he had neither a 
school nor a plantation. What caused him the 
gravest anxiety during those years was the impos- 
sibility of gaining any real influence with the 
women and the girls. For what would become 
of his boys if they contracted heathen marriages? 
He began to look forward to the day when 
there would be Sisters on the Singhi. The 
Franciscan Sisters who worked for Saint Joseph’s 
Society had already started girls’ schools at 
Kuching and elsewhere, and they were expecting 
several more Sisters from England. Father 
Westerwoudt seized the opportunity and invited 
the Mother Superior to visit Singhi, and see if 
she thought it a fit place for Sisters to live. He 
hesitated at the thought of the journey, which 
at some seasons of the year was impossible for 
a woman. But he knew of what courage and 
generosity a Catholic Sister’s heart is capable. 
82 


STIdNd dAILVN UIJHL ALIM 


SNOISSI JN IHONIS AHL JO SHALSIG 


war henra nnee 


rn 
eas 
ata 


* 


d 


* 


sy 


* 


a 


Ee |. 


SLEEN 





ERN | 
eae 
EN ZP OM 





REINFORCEMENTS 83 


Fortunately, he was not deceived. Two Sisters 
were allowed to settle on the Singhi. As this 
was in the nature of an experiment, Felix offered 
to bear the expense of the building of a house 
and he agreed to provide for their wants for three 
years. He had made the plan for the house 
himself, but just as he was about to start build- 
ing he was called to North Borneo. Father 
Goossens insisted on his friend’s going, for his 
health was not at all satisfactory at that time. 
He promised to take care of the building during 
Felix’s absence, and when the latter returned he 
found everything in perfect order. So, in Sep- 
tember, 1891, the Mother Superior brought to 
Singhi two Sisters, for whom a life of great 
poverty and privation now began. 

The Sisters took care of the chapel and did 
the missioner’s cooking. In their actual mission 
work, success was heartbreakingly slow in coming. 
Father Westerwoudt had expected this and pre- 
pared them for it. It was difficult to secure 
desirable girls as pupils, because many were 
trained from an early age in the superstitions of 
priestesses and medicine women. Moreover, in 
the family life most of the work fell to the lot 
of the women and girls, and it was almost im- 
possible for the girls to be spared to go to live 
with the Sisters, or even to study with them for 
short periods. As for the Sisters themselves, 


84 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


one of them was soon at home and quickly 
acquired a smattering of the Dyak language. 
But the other fell ill and suffered continually 
from fevers. The children were afraid of these 
white women in their long black robes, with their 
heads wrapped in black and white cloths, and 
they ran at their approach. 

A full year after the Sisters’ arrival, however, 
in September, 1892, Father Westerwoudt felt 
that the prayers he had asked for were being 
answered. The Sisters had four girls and a little 
boy in their care. “The quality is not exactly 
first rate,” he wrote, “for two of them have 
bow legs, and a third has skin disease. Our con- 
vent looks more like a hospital than a school. 
But it is all for the love of God, and perhaps we 
shall be DE later by a GIN number of 
healthy ones.’ | 

By Easter, 1893, there were a few more little 
ones in the convent, and two girls were baptized. 
They were called Mary and Catherine, after the 
patron saints of Singhi convent. Father Wester- 
woudt had a greater number of school boys, also. 
Some had already left him, making room for 
others. Joseph Kottir was in the service of the © 
Sisters. He did all the rough work for them, 
such as chopping wood, carrying water, and so 
forth. Another boy who had grown beyond the 
school age was a poor hunchback, who was in- 


REINFORCEMENTS 85 


capable of doing any work. He became quite 
famous as Singhi’s first and only shop-keeper. 
In reality his sole trade was a certain amount of 
bartering, which sufficed for Hwmpy’s modest 
needs. 

That same year the Christians planted a rice- 
field, which the missioner blessed. The crop 
was a poor one, but at least the Christians’ field 
produced as much as any other. Father Felix 
was not too exacting. He wrote: “ Praise be to 
God! now the heathens can no longer claim that 
becoming a Christian and rice-planting are irrec- 
oncilable. Probably they will find some other 
excuse. Conversion is a grace from God. This 
the missioner daily experiences; but that is just 
why he always looks forward so hopefully to the 
future! ” | 

Felix had long been turning over in his mind 
the idea of a coffee plantation, where his Chris- 
tians could find profitable employment. He 
made a first attempt in 1890. As coffee does not 
grow on damp and level ground, it would be 
possible to utilize the mountain slope. Here, as 
elsewhere, the missioner met with great opposition 
from the chief, who gave his sanction to the plan 
only after intervention by the District Resident. 

The most direct way to the plantation from 
the mission-house led through one of the cre- 
mation grounds. Father Goossens accompanied 


86 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


his friend on one of his trips thither and after- 
wards wrote: “I saw, hanging from trees, baskets 
in which babies had been deposited. Only two 
or three days ago a dead babe had been brought 
there, and it was one mass of corruption. Human 
limbs, half burnt and decayed, lay around, and 
their fearful stench reached the missioner-planter 
even at a distance. The rest is best left unsaid.” 

Yet the “ missioner-planter ”, as Father Goos- 
sens called him, persisted in these unpleasant 
expeditions till the time of his death. After his 
school hours and the visits to his Christians, he 
went with his boys to weed the plantation. No 
labor was too great for him when it was a ques- 
tion of the good of his flock. In a material way, 
the plantation was not a success, although Felix 
did have the satisfaction of actually tasting his 
own coffee. Coffee planting demands hard labor — 
and does not yield immediate results. The 
Dyaks were not good cultivators and preferred 
immediate gain. So they did not respond to 
Father Westerwoudt’s efforts. But until his 
death the plantation provided a means of employ- 
ment for his boys, and they were pleased with 
the pay the missioner gave them for their work. © 

In the midst of such incessant labors for his 
own flock, Felix did not cease to think of the 
other tribes and to desire that they, too, might 
have the gift of faith. His friend, Father 


REINFORCEMENTS 87 


Goossens, had opened an out-station at Paku for 
the Chinese. A little farther on lived several 
tribes of Seramboe Dyaks, and the two priests 
decided to combine their efforts and do some- 
thing for them. With the help of a couple of 
boys they built a hut of wood and palm leaves, 
near Paku. This structure was to be used as a 
school, served by the two priests in turn. They 
started with four boys, but one was removed by 
his father and another got home-sick. After 
four month’s time, Felix was obliged to admit 
that the Goossens-Westerwoudt Company had 
gone bankrupt. The failure was definitely con- 
firmed by Father Jackson, who visited the differ- 
ent stations after his return to Borneo. Among 
the changes which followed his visitation of the 
missions, was the transfer of Father Goossens to 
North Borneo. 

This loss was a real trial for the Singhi 
missioner. He was also deprived of the com- 
pany of Father Van den Broeck, who had been 
stationed at Kuching and who was sent north. 
“He made my monthly visits at Kuching so 
pleasant,” he wrote, “and Father Goossens, only 
three hours distant. from Singhi, was my con- 
frère, my confessor, and my adviser.” 

The new school at Paku was totally abandoned. 
Those boys who could be persuaded to do so, 
went with the missioner to Singhi, and on the 


88 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


list of newly baptized at Christmas, 1894, were 
five Seramboe Dyaks. But they did not get on 
well with the Singhi boys, and one by one they 
left the mission house. Father Westerwoudt, 
however, did not lose sight of his Seramboe 
Christians, and he visited them whenever it was 
possible. Though they were only at an hour’s 
distance from Paku, they profited nothing, or 
almost nothing, by the Chinese mission station. 
For the Chinese had a great contempt for the 
Dyaks, whom they called forest-dwellers, and 
this contempt was so extreme that they wanted 
their own priests. The missioners who worked 
among the Dyaks were not able to influence the 
Chinese, and were deemed of little account. But 
better days were at hand for the Seramboe Dyaks. 
In October, 1895, good news reached the 
Singhi. Father Reyffert had been assigned to 
help Felix. This was done chiefly that Felix 
might be free to do more for the Seramboe. He 
at once opened an out-station at Podam. “ The 
new Saint Anthony’s”, he wrote, “is a very 
humble station. It lies at the foot of Seramboe 
mountain, and it numbers only thirty doors, as we | 
say here; which means three long houses, built 
on poles, containing ten families each. A few 
smaller campongs lie scattered in the vicinity.” 
There Felix began life once more, in a hut 
of palm leaves twenty feet square. As of old 


REINFORCEMENTS 89 


on the Singhi, a partition shut off the chapel-bed- 
room from the rest of the hut. Unfortunately, 
he was frequently absent. Singhi continued to 
be his own main station and he often assisted 
Father Reyffert there. He was also called else- 
where, for there was a great scarcity of missioners 
in Borneo at that time. Father Jackson, who was 
really too old to carry the burden of the Apostolic 
Prefecture, had resigned with the approbation of 
Propaganda, and had left for England. Almost 
at the same time, several of the missioners who 
had so valiantly shared the burden succumbed. 
They died or else were obliged to return to Eng- 
land. If Father Reyffert’s appointment had not 
been previous to all these trials it would prob- 
ably never have been made. As things stood, it 
seemed doubtful whether the new station, 
Podam, could be maintained. 

The hopes of the Borneo mission were staked 
on the newly ordained priests, but in August, 
1896, news came that, by wish of Propaganda, 
all the out-going missioners were to be sent to 
Central Africa. Father Westerwoudt did not 
lose courage. He wrote: “ We must do the same 
amount of work, with four priests less. But at 
least the upkeep of the mission will be cheaper! ” 

Father Haidegger, the Acting Prefect, had 
great difficulty in maintaining the different sta- 
tions, and this would have been entirely impos- 


90 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


sible if the missioners had not been so willing 
to substitute. Thus, Felix celebrated Christ- 
mas, 1896, on the Singhi; the next day he 
hastened to Podam; and from there he went to 
Kuching, where he was to substitute for Father 
Haidegger. The following year Father Reyf- 
fert was called away from the Singhi by the 
illness of a confrère. Would he return? No- 
body knew. “I am again sole master on my 
mountain,” Felix wrote in May, 1897, “ but 
Podam will be the loser. However, we must 
take things as they come.” | 

In the fall of 1897 an event took place which 
Felix called the most important in the sixteen 
years’ existence of the Borneo mission. Father 
Jackson’s place was filled by Father Dunn, one of 
the first three missioners to land in Borneo. Trav- 
elers in Borneo know that it is almost impossible — 
to meet at a certain place on a fixed date. But 
Father Dunn would hear of no insurmountable 
obstacles, and convoked a provincial chapter at. 
Kuching. The chapter opened on All Souls’ 
Day. What a reunion that was! Priests met 
who had worked for years in the Borneo missions | 
and had seldom or never seen one another. Some 
met for the first time; some were classmates who 
had not met since leaving the Seminary fifteen 
years before. Father Westerwoudt wrote as 
follows: 


REINFORCEMENTS OI 


The few hours that remained for chatting passed 
all too quickly for our liking. ‘That night our retreat 
began, conducted by the Very Reverend Father Prefect. 
It was a spiritual delight, such as we had never before 
experienced. In my opinion, the greatest trial the 
missioner has to endure is not the want of material 
comforts, but the total lack of all that awakens devo- 
tion, such as Solemn High Mass, Benediction, proces- 
sions, and also a common retreat. ‘Time was limited, 
so the retreat was short. It was followed by a free 
day, and then the chapter was opened. Each priest 
related his personal experiences. It was not an easy 
task to fix a general rule for missions so widely dif- 
ferent in language and customs, but within three days’ 
time everything was arranged to the satisfaction of 
both our Superior and his subordinates. 

How much we should have liked to prolong our 
reunion! But the hour of parting had struck. The 
boat for Labuan and North Borneo was weighing 
anchor and five of our nine missioners were obliged 
to leave. ‘The farewell of friends when missioners 
leave Mill Hill is deeply moving, but perhaps not more 
so than this farewell of the Borneo priests. The ex- 
pense and the difficulty of traveling, and the failing 
health of some, amply justified the doubt whether they 
would ever meet again. So much the heartier was 
the good-bye: “Farewell till we meet again; if not 
here, then hereafter! ” ‘That same day the boat from 
Singapore brought three new missioners, but I could 
only spend a few hours with them, as I had to return 
that night to my Dyaks. 


92 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


On the occasion of the chapter the whole Bor- 
neo mission was especially consecrated to The 
Sacred Heart by the Very Reverend Prefect. The 
missioners did this, as we read in their report, to 
call down God’s blessing in a special manner on 
their work. Writing to his parents later, Father 
Westerwoudt begged them to be especially mind- 
ful of the poor Borneo heathen on the First 
Fridays, and to set aside on those days a small 
alms, that the missioners might have the means 
to prepare worthier abodes for their hidden God 
in their miserable chapels. | 

The previous efforts of the Borneo missioners 
had not been crowned with the desired success. 
This they considered to be due wholly to their 
own weakness and imperfections. So they deter- 
mined to make a further sacrifice and increase the 
number of fast days in the week. They hoped | 
that thus The Sacred Heart might bless more 
abundantly their efforts, and that by spending 
themselves more they might become worthier . 
instruments of God for the salvation of souls. 
This resolve is a revelation of the apostolic spirit 
which animated those priests. Their life was 
already beset with every kind of hardship, but 
they were ready to suffer more, if by so doing 
they might promote the kingdom of God. 

After the chapter, since three new arrivals had 
somewhat reinforced the thinned ranks of Borneo 


REINFORCEMENTS 93 


missioners, Father Reyffert was sent back to the 
Singhi. God’s mercy was evident in this, for 
thus the poor Singhi Dyaks would not be left 
alone in that near future, when their first 
missioner would go to his well-earned rest. 


XII 
VIA CRUCIS 


s we have seen, Father Westerwoudt did 
Ai conquer whole regions for the Faith; 
he did not lead thousands, or even hun- 
dreds, of souls to the Mother Church. A tiny 
flock of the faithful was the fruit of his entire 
apostolate, and the cross which he planted on the 
Singhi had only begun to take root when the 
missioner died. There were about twenty Chris- 
tians, who had been confirmed, and two Catholic 
households, the children of which Felix had bap- 
tized. His labors might appear vain to those 
who, looking on from afar, do not understand 
what it means to be a victim. But such was not 
the opinion of those who came in contact with the 
Singhi missioner. They felt in him a holiness 
far beyond the ordinary. All his actions were 
accompanied by the same perfection. He stayed — 
his own weakness on the infinite strength of 
God and apparent failures had no power to dis- 
quiet him. 
The main characteristics of Father Wester- 
woudt’s life on the Singhi were his remarkable 
94 


VIA CRUCIS 95 


prudence, his invincible confidence, his patience, 
his never failing good spirits, and his love of 
poverty and mortification. Some of these virtues 
were part of his nature as, for instance, his innate 
cheerfulness. But others were the result of a 
constant struggle. He was not naturally very 
patient nor meek. And yet his life of humility 
won the admiration of all who knew him. His 
prudence showed itself throughout all the years 
of his apostolate, and had much to do with the 
final success of his mission. One thoughtless 
action might have ruined his chances. He always 
sought advice and deferred to the judgment of 
those more experienced than himself, and acted 
only after long deliberation and prayer. In this 
manner he gained, step by step, a footing on the 
Singhi. 

The conversion of the Singhi Dyaks had be- 
come his goal. He did not stop to question 
whether it would be reached during his own life- 
time. He knew that the ultimate victory would 
be Christ’s. So he never desired to be trans- 
ferred. When this question was broached, he 
always asked to be allowed to stay with his 
people, spending himself to the last. Towards 
the end, when a temporary leave would have been 
beneficial to his health, the very mention of it 
was painful to him. He knew well that his 
Dyaks could not do without him. Those chil- 


96 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


dren in the Faith, surrounded by every tempta- 
tion, had need of all his devotion and patience. 
His love for them manifested itself at all sea- 
sons, day and night. He shared in their games 
and in their work, he taught them, he nursed 
them when they were ill, he washed and bandaged 
their wounds and their sores. His Superior, 
Father Dunn, said of him: “For more than 
twelve years, day after day, to visit after school 
hours those who cared nothing for him and re- 
mained indifferent, never to rebuff anyone, never 
to let anyone wait, always to be at everybody’s 
disposal, this does, indeed, require heroic 
virtue.” 

Father Dunn related an instance of Felix’s 
patience which he witnessed during his first visit 
to the Singhi. The two missioners were seated at 
their usual meal of rice and bananas. Fraternal 
intercourse seasoned the humble dish, and this 
was a happiness the solitary Singhi pastor did not 
often enjoy. Of a sudden a Dyak entered. His 
arms were covered with sores from his hands to 
his elbows. He sat down unabashed and leaned 
his elbows on the table. The matter from his 
sores trickled down. Father Westerwoudt be- 
trayed neither impatience, disgust, nor irritation. 
He cheerfully asked the man his business, with- 
out discontinuing his meal. In his opinion, it 
would have been a mistake to turn the man away, 


VIA CRUCIS 97 


for he would not have come again. Father Reyf- 
fert reported that the instance related by Father 
Dunn was a daily occurrence. The presence of 
such guests at table certainly did not render the 
Singhi missioner’s miserable food more savory. 
And yet, in his younger days Felix was extremely 
dainty in food and drink and much bent upon 
cleanliness and order. Now, his life was the 
realization of the maxim of Saint Francis de 
Sales: “ Ask nothing, refuse nothing.” 

Once Felix and Father Goossens were to spend 
several days together at Kuching. On the 
appointed day Father Goossens went to meet his 
friend at the landing place. He was not there, 
and Father Goossens became anxious, for usually 
Felix was very punctual. Half-way up the 
Singhi, he met boys who had come to tell him 
that their missioner had a swollen leg. When 
he reached the house he found Father Wester- 
woudt reclining in a half-sitting, half-lying posi- 
tion. His red sash hung from one of the beams, 
and his leg was resting in the sash. A few old 
women stood around him. The leg was red and 
inflamed and looked very bad, but the missioner 
himself was as cheerful as ever. He asked the 
women to withdraw, and then told Father 
Goossens that they had been nursing his leg. 
They had been squatting around the leg and 
spitting on the injured region. As usual in such 


98 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


cases, they had chewed betel, sirih, and gambier, 
and their spittle was red. Felix was too kind- 
hearted to refuse this disgusting remedy. Some 
leeches, applied by Father Goossens, were more 
efficacious, but the old women cried out that their 
father was being killed. 

This was in later years. At first the life or 
death of the white man would have been a matter 
of total indifference to them; in fact, if anything, 
they would have preferred his death. The 
Dyaks appeared to be the most unfeeling and 
heartless people imaginable. Expressions like 
CT thank you” were unknown to them. They 
would ask for all kinds of things, and when they 
received one gift always asked for another; yet 
their manner was so indifferent that it seemed 
doubtful whether they would carry the gifts 
away, or drop them on the spot. They never 
rendered the missioner a service, nor gave him 
anything unless it was so decayed as to be use- 
less to themselves. Only on one occasion was 
this ingratitude known to wring a complaint from 
the missioner’s heart. His boys had run away 
without the least sign of thanks to the man who 
had given them education, food, clothes, and 
love. Father Westerwoudt wrote: “ When you 
give a dog a crust it wags its tail, but from them 
there is nothing, nothing whatever! ” 

In spite of the coldness of their hearts, how- 





FATHER WESTERWOUDT AND His Boys IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE MISSION 















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VIA CRUCIS 99 


ever, the Dyaks loved their children. A Dyak 
never beat nor ill-treated his children, and even 
boys of twelve and fourteen played with their 
little brothers and sisters for hours at a stretch. 
Father Westerwoudt’s unfailing kindness towards 
the little ones could not fail to touch the hearts 
of their mothers. Gradually they learned to 
love the tender-hearted missioner who bore all 
their ingratitude with a smiling countenance. 
This constant cheerfulness was one of Father 
Westerwoudt’s greatest attractions. He per- 
formed the vilest offices as if it were a pleasure. 
And yet he had to fight against ill health, great 
weariness, and the torrid heat. Nothing was 
ever too much for him to undertake. He was 
never known to be bad-tempered, he never took 
anything amiss. - No excitement was visible in his 
actions. He complained of nothing and nobody, 
always spoke kindly of persons accused, and 
quietly discouraged all detraction. It must not 
be forgotten that he was dealing with a most 
primitive people who, even when they were con- 
verted, were subject to many of their old vices. 
Such a people called for a sublime degree of 
devotedness, patience, and long-suffering on the 
part of the missioner who sought to win them. 
In the end not only the Christians, but even the 
pagans, respected and loved Father Westerwoudt. 
They conversed with him intimately and be- 


100 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


stowed on him the honorable title of “ Grand- 
father? 

The Singhi missioner did not see his brethren 
very often, because of the inaccessible nature of 
the mountain. When in their presence, he never 
put himself forward. He was cheerful and 
pleasant, though always recollected. When his 
opinion was asked, he was straightforward yet 
prudent, careful not to wound. ‘The missioners 
who worked among the Chinese used to tease 
him about his parishioners, for the Chinese have 
a great contempt for the Dyaks. Felix took it 
all in good part but he himself never spoke 
ill of another, not even of a native. He was 
admired and loved by all his fellow-missioners. 

Though good to others, Felix was pitiless to 
himself. He offered himself as a victim for his 
flock and strove to become by personal merit the 
mediator for those entrusted to him. His 
favorite weapons in this holy warfare were 
humility and mortification so great as to recall 
the most beautiful examples of God’s saints. 
The Borneo mission was very poor and all its 
priests often suffered want; but everyone testi- 
fied that Felix was Borneo’s poor missioner “ par 
excellence ”, and this by his own choice. There 
were hardships that were unavoidable in his difh- 
cult post; but besides these, there were others 
which he voluntarily imposed upon himself. , He 


VIA CRUCIS IOI 


had rivetted his will in the fetters of mortifica- 
tion, and, like Saint Francis of old, had given 
his heart to his beloved Bride, Holy Poverty, for 
the love of God. 

If he had permitted it, his parents would have 
kept him supplied with more nourishing food. 
But he chose to live like his flock, a Dyak with 
the Dyaks. At first he did not always fare even 
as well as they. There were times when he actu- 
ally had nothing to eat and when the Dyaks re- 
fused to sell him anything. Once, when he had no 
food, he saw a basket of eggs hanging under a 
house. He asked to buy some but met with a 
refusal. Fearing to be overcome with hunger, 
he threw down twice the price of the eggs and 
appropriated them. His hunger must have been 
great, indeed, for ordinarily he fasted with won- 
derful fortitude. His fellow-missioners who 
accompanied him on his journeys bore witness to 
this. And not only did he show fortitude in the 
face of hunger, but he remained cheerful and 
serene. 

When dainties were sent him from the home- 
land he left them untouched and offered them as 
a treat to the next missioner who visited him. 
When Father Reyffert joined Felix on the Singhi 
he tried to persuade him to allow himself some- 
thing extra on Sundays and feast days. ‘“ No, 
no,” answered Felix, kindly but firmly, “it is 


102 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


not at all necessary.” And there the matter 
ended. This refusal of what is pleasing to 
the taste was not the only mortification which 
Felix practised. He often partook readily of 
what others would have refused with disgust. 
He accepted gratefully the decayed food given 
him by the Dyaks. He even found the pre- 
served durian eatable, though neither the other 
Fathers, to whom he had sent some on trial, nor 
their black boys, could eat the fruit. 

It may be safely said that every day which 
Felix passed on the Singhi was a fresh source of 
mortification. His hardships were legion; the 
burning sun which beat down upon him during his 
journeys, the torrential showers which soaked him 
to the skin, the chilly nights, the sharp peb- 
bles of the river beds, the swamps full of 
leeches, were only a few of the things he had to 
endure. 

At night Father Westerwoudt voluntarily pro- 
longed the day’s sufferings. Father Goossens 
has given a description of his friend’s bedroom. 
While Felix was in North Borneo, Father 
Goossens looked after his mission for him. Once 
while he was there he felt feverish and wanted 
to lie down. He had great difficulty in climbing 
on to his friend’s bed, for it was four or five 
feet from the ground. There was no mattress, 
and the only pillow was a piece of bamboo about 


VIA CRUCIS 103 


five inches in diameter. Father Goossens said to 
himself: “ If he can do it, I can, too! ” But he 
was soon obliged to give up, for a round block of 
wood was not the most comfortable of pillows. 

In the evening after his boys had gone to bed, 
Father Westerwoudt often worked for hours. — 
He wrote by hand the little prayer books, a real 
labor of love and patience. As more were al- 
ways needed, the task was endless. He also 
wrote his own textbooks and a Land-Dyak lexi- 
con. The first piece of printing done in the 
Singhi language was a memorial sketch of Father 
Westerwoudt himself. 

Father Reyffert hardly dared to tell of the 
state of his friend’s clothing. After Father 
Westerwoudt’s death his few belongings were 
sent home. But his faithful companion did not 
send the threadbare cassock with its many patches, 
nor the satchel which had a strip of lamp-wick 
by way of a handle, nor the hat held together by 
woolen rags. ‘These would have revealed too 
much to the loving hearts in the homeland. 
Father Westerwoudt’s brethren were wont to call 
him by the name of his patron saint, the poor 
Capuchin, Felix of Cantalice. The allowance 
which the Borneo missioners received was so 
scanty as to be often insufficient; yet Felix always 
managed to put something aside. Sometimes 
he returned the allowance or asked to be passed 


104 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


over, saying that he could hold out a few months 
longer. 

In his letters, Father Westerwoudt “leas 
made light of ill health. He sometimes spoke 
of a swollen foot as “something very common 
here”, or of a little fever as “natural to the 
climate”. Then, after relating his doings, he 
would usually conclude: “So you see, I am all 
right.” But in reality his complaints were far 
from being passing trifles. Owing to the circum- 
stances in which he lived, to his privations, and 
also to the fact that he never spared himself when 
help was needed, he was soon attacked by open 
wounds, especially on the legs. These were 
caused partly by leeches and insects in the swamps, 
and partly by mosquitoes. The irritation was 
almost unbearable, and as soon as these bites were 
rubbed they became deep black holes. All the — 
Borneo priests suffered from them, but Felix 
more than many, and his wounds were exception- 
ally slow in healing. Yet he never betrayed his 
suffering, nor sought relief by stretching his legs 
nor resting. them on a chair. 

Once, when he went to visit Father Goossens _ 
at Sang-Kap-Kong, he tried a new short cut. “I 
remember well”, this Father wrote, “ how he 
scrambled up to my house, greatly exhausted. 
He sat down and began to tell of the manifold 
difficulties peculiar to the road. Of a sudden I 


VIA CRUCIS 105 


saw blood dripping on the floor, and I drew his 
attention to it. Then he told me how often he 
had been obliged to take off his clothes in order 
to remove the big leeches which had covered his 
body. With him, such annoyances were accepted 
as a matter of course.” 

Sometimes the wounds obliged Felix to give 
up his missionary visits. Then he would be 
found half reclining, talking and joking with 
visitors. He never complained, and only this 
tell-tale inactivity indicated his sufferings. His 
legs were discolored up to the knees, and often 
festering very badly. Even when the wounds 
had healed, the scars bothered him to the end of 
his life. This genuine self-denial went hand in 
hand with an even temper and a gentle behavior 
in all things. _When anxious inquiries reached 
him from home, he would reply: “ I am looking 
after myself well. I climb the mountain as 
quickly as ever, and I am cheerful and contented, 
so you see I am all right.” But a photograph 
which reached Holland a few years before his 
death told a different story; there was suffering 
and exhaustion in the features, and the cassock 
hung in folds around the shrunken and bent 
shoulders. The priest’s body had indeed become 
the slave of a soul that knew no rest. 

There remains to be mentioned one mortifi- 
cation which was harder to bear than any other. 


106 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


There were good people who misunderstood 
Felix and misrepresented his intentions. He 
never spoke of this, but it caused him great suffer- 
ing. God did not deprive him of this trial, 
which He usually sends to His elect. 

The only possible source of such a mortified 
and saintly life was deep faith and an ardent love 
of God. No weariness could keep Father 
Westerwoudt from his devotional exercises. He 
visited Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament many times 
in the day, to seek strength and courage for him- 
self and grace for his flock. He prayed often 
and at regular hours. When Father Reyffert 
came, the two missioners always said their rosary 
together, pacing up and down on the veranda of 
their house. When Felix was weaker than usual 
his companion tried to persuade him to sit down, 
but only once would he do so. Much of Father ~ 
Westerwoudt’s inner life remains hidden from 
us. At Kuching, when he felt that death was 
near, he asked Father Reyffert to destroy all 
his papers and notes without exception or delay. 
In the absence of these documents, however, we 
may apply to the Singhi missioner the judgment _ 
of our Divine Savior: “ By the fruit the tree is 
known.” 


XIII 
THE LABORER GOES HOME 


N March, 1898, Father Westerwoudt was to 
| give a retreat to the lay Brothers of the 

mission, at the station of Paku. He was to 
start after celebrating the feast of Saint Joseph 
on the Singhi, but was taken suddenly ill the 
night before. Father Reyffert, hearing sounds 
which aroused his anxiety, went to Father Wes- 
terwoudt’s room and found him suffering with 
pains in the chest. The next morning Father 
Westerwoudt said Mass as usual, in spite of his 
fellow missioner’s protests, but his weakness was | 
so great that he trembled at the altar. He was 
very ill all day and, though all visitors were 
kept away from him, his state did not improve. 
On Monday, March 21, he wished to go to 
Paku, and it was difficult to prevent him from 
doing so. On Tuesday morning he said that 
he felt quite well again and that a brisk walk 
was just what he needed. 

“ And go he did,” said Father Reyffert, “ his 
departure filling me with anxiety. I can see 
him now as he descended the stairs of our house 
and left the Singhi, never to return.” 


107 


108 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


He seems to have borne the journey well. 
The Brothers, who had had word of Father 
Westerwoudt’s illness, did not expect him. 
They had gone on a visit to Father Klerk at 
Bau, and were not at home to receive him. 
When they returned they found the Singhi 
missioner waiting. Brother Theodore, who had 
known Father Westerwoudt at Mill Hill, soon 
perceived that he was far from well. The re- 
treat opened that evening, but all who were 
making it saw how difficult it was for the 
missioner to speak, and what actual pain he was 
suffering. During the whole night he lay 
awake, and they heard him groaning incessantly. 
In the morning he was unable to swallow any 
food. The Brothers were much disturbed, and 
on the third evening Brother Theodore could 
bear it no longer. He advised the missioner to 
go to Kuching and consult a physician. ‘ Non- 
sense, man,” replied Father Westerwoudt with a 
smile, “I shall be quite well within a couple of 
days. Now don’t worry about me any longer.” 

So the retreat was continued. Father Wester- 
woudt grew worse every day, and on the follow- | 
ing Sunday the Brothers again urged him to have 
medical aid. “Tomorrow we will go to the 
Singhi together”, he told Brother Theodore, 
and I will show you my new mission.” Luck- 
ily, Father Klerk arrived just in time to prevent 


THE LABORER GOES HOME 109 


the execution of this project. Felix was obliged 
to yield and was sent at once to Kuching. He 
was taken by rail and boat, through the good 
offices of the Borneo Company, which had its 
own railroad near the Paku mission. Mean- 
while Brother Theodore was sent to break the 
news on the Singhi. “Don’t frighten them,” 
Felix warned him, “don’t tell them that I am 
4 

The missioners at Kuching were much startled 
by Father Westerwoudt’s appearance. Fora few 
days he was able to sit up, but soon he grew too 
weak to leave his bed. Father Reyffert hastened 
to Kuching, where he found his companion very 
ill, coughing continually, and with a fever which 
did not leave him. As soon as malaria and 
pneumonia declared themselves simultaneously, 
little hope was entertained for this precious life. 
The suffering missioner was surrounded by every 
comfort and received good medical care. Cath- 
olics and Protestants vied with one another in 
kindness, but the patient declined visibly. 

On April 4 he was advised to arrange all his 
affairs and to receive the last Sacraments. He 
received Holy Communion on his knees beside 
his bed, and then he was anointed. “Now I 
am quite prepared ”, he said. Father Dunn was 
absent and it was feared that he would return 
too late, but he arrived just twenty-four hours 


110 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


before Felix’s death and was able to say adieu 
to his beloved son in Christ. 

During his illness Felix never rt 
He prayed constantly and declared that he had 
placed himself entirely in God’s keeping. He 
felt great joy in the thought that his dear Dyaks 
would be cared for by Father Reyffert, and he 
was sure of the Sisters, too, for they had promised 
him never to forsake the Singhi. His soul knew 
no shadow of fear. “I trust that Our Lady 
will not suffer me to remain long in Purgatory ”, 
he said. He spoke of all his loved ones in the 
homeland, and sent them his greetings and his 
last blessing. His brethren had given him a 
bottle containing a few drops of Lourdes water. 
This afforded him great consolation. But he was 
unselfish even at the end and he feared to de- 
prive the other missioners. ‘ My people will 
soon go to Lourdes,” he said, “and if you ask 
them they will certainly send you some water.” 

Meanwhile, Holy Week had begun and the 
dying pastor insisted that Father Reyffert return 
to the Singhi so that his beloved flock might ful- 
fil their Easter duties. On the Singhi a novena 
was in progress for Father Westerwoudt’s re- 
covery, for he had won at last those unfeeling 
hearts. When the Dyaks learned from Father 
Reyffert how serious their pastor’s illness was, 
they wept bitterly and some set out for Kuching 


THE LABORER GOES HOME III 


to visit him. There they were told that there 
was no hope. The missioner spoke to each one 
in person. He made them promise to remain 
faithful to God and to their religion, in order 
that they might see him again in heaven. 

On Easter Sunday, Father Reyffert returned 
to Kuching. The Sisters had given him some 
roses and lilies from the Singh: altar for Father 
Westerwoudt. While the patient was asleep 
they were removed from his bedside, as it was 
feared their odor was too strong. When he 
awoke he missed them and said: “ Where are 
the flowers the good nuns sent me? Bring them 
back and do not take them away again. The 
Sisters might think I had forgotten them in my 
last hour” Even in his agony his heart kept its 
exquisite delicacy. 

On Easter Monday Father Westerwoudt began 
to be delirious. While in this state he asked 
urgently for something, but his brethren could 
not understand him. When he came to himself 
they found that he had asked for holy water. 
He wished to be sprinkled repeatedly with it, 
for he feared that he might give way to a tempta- 
tion of anger or of impatience during his attacks. 
He suffered greatly during the night, but did not 
die until Wednesday morning at nine o’clock. 
Then he expired peacefully in the arms of his 
brethren. The next morning, Thursday, April 


Liz FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


14, a solemn Requiem Mass was sung and Father 
Westerwoudt was buried. His grave was not in 
the Catholic cemetery of Kuching, but near the 
church, in the very shadow of the tabernacle. A 
friend of former days chose for him an epitaph 
from the Roman catacombs: | 


Felix in pace, 
Vivas in Deo beatus. 


Meanwhile, the news of his death had been 
sent in all haste to the Singhi. His people made 
wreaths of all the white flowers they could 
gather, and late at night, by torchlight, they 
hurried to Kuching to behold their beloved father 
once more. Father Westerwoudt had gone to 
God on the closing day of the novena his people 
were making for him. On the following Sun- 
day they had no priest to say Mass for them. — 
One of the boys started the rosary, but he was 
unable to continue, for the little congregation 
burst into sobs, weeping for the Father they had 
lost. They wished to see his grave, and so, 
sometime afterwards, the Sisters with their pupils 
went down to Kuching. | 

The Borneo missioners felt that Father Wes- 
terwoudt’s death was a loss to the whole mission. 
They were unanimous in praising his virtue, and 
this meant not a little from men who themselves 
practised priestly virtue to a heroic degree. Dur- 


THE LABORER GOES HOME 113 


ing Felix’s last illness, Father Haidegger wrote, 
while he was seated by his friend’s death- 
bed: “It is a heavy blow to the mission to lose 
its best and holiest man.” Father Reyffert said 
of him: 


He kept nothing for himself, but gave all for 
all. Holiness, for him, consisted in doing everything 
as perfectly as possible with regard to God, to his 
fellowman, and to himself. His every action was 
modeled on the lives of the Saints. His whole life 
was a species of martyrdom. It was all the more 
sublime because he endured in patience and gladness 
of heart without any human consolation, without en- 
couragement nor admiration, and, for the greater part 
of the time, alone. 


Father Dunn, Father Westerwoudt’s Superior, 
said that he considered it one of the greatest 
blessings of his life to have known Felix. He 
felt drawn towards the Singhi missioner some- 
what as people must have felt themselves 
drawn towards Our Divine Saviour during His 
mortal life. Father Jackson, Felix’s first 
Superior in the mission, wrote of him: “TI never 
met a priest who followed more closely in the 
footsteps of the Saints, and I know that the other 
Fathers and the Sisters thought likewise.” 

Father Aelen, during a visit to the Singhi, was 
obliged to stop several times while saying Mass, 


114 FELIX WESTERWOUDT 


so overcome was he by the realization of how 
the Singhi missioner was spending himself for 
his handful of Christians. He declared that 
what he had witnessed there would suffice to con- 
vert even an unbeliever. Father Driessen, eight 
years after Father Westerwoudt’s death, wrote: 


Without fear of exaggeration, I testify that Felix 
was the most humble and most mortified missioner I 
ever met. His sole end was God and the salvation of 
souls; and no fatigue, no hunger or thirst, was ever 
too much for him. I believe there was no virtue 
which he did not possess in an eminent degree. 


This testimony was given after the passing of 
time had allowed first enthusiasms to cool. The 
same year Father Westerwoudt’s © OEE 
recorded: 


The dying of the seed has brought life in the Singhi - 
mission. ‘The Christians are not sham Christians; they 
understand the Catholic religion, and they practice it. 
They stand firm against the pagan influences that 
surround them. One of the surest proofs of this is 
the way they receive the Sacrament of Penance. Else- 
where, the missioner finds that the newly converted may 
have very little conception of what sin is, and, there- - 
fore, no contrition, or else may wilfully conceal sins; 
but on the Singhi administering the Sacrament is a 
consolation to the missioners. 

By what miracle of grace did the Singhi missioner 
bring his flock to this understanding? Was it by 


(SIT oövd 299) NOISSIJN IHONIS AHL AO SAOY AHL ANV SUOSSAIING S, LANOMHALS AM UAH LVI 








THE LABORER GOES HOME 115 


teaching, by prayer, or because he had offered himself 
as a victim for them? God alone knows. 

The Christian families live quite apart from the 
heathen, whom they far surpass in civilization. All 
the Christians can read and write, as none of the 
pagans can. Father Westerwoudt’s first and most 
beloved convert, Joseph Kottir, is now a good husband 
and father and a real pillar of the mission. ‘There is 
a great difference between the semi-savage boys who 
surrounded Felix as his pupils, and the friendly and 
neatly-clad lads, intelligent of face, who now gather 
around the Singhi missioner. 

The Singhi Christians are as yet a little flock — ten 
families, numbering seventy souls. But, thanks to the 
efforts of Father Westerwoudt and his successor, that 
day is at hand when Christ will reign over what the 
Prefect Apostolic, Father Dunn, does not hesitate to 
call — 


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